HE Nation stood tall
in Akure, the Ondo
State capital, at the
weekend, winning five
awards at the prestigious
Nigerian Media Merit
Award (NMMA).
Also yesterday, this
newspaper won two
awards at the Diamond

From Olorunleke Akeredolu,
Akure

Awards for Media Excellence (DAME).
Vendors in Abuja last
week declared The Nation
Newspaper of the Year.
Assistant Editor Olatunji
Ololade was the centre of attraction at the Akure cer-

emony. Ololade, who had
six nominations, clinched
three awards. He won the
Malam Ibrahim Shekarau
Prize for Education Reporter
of the Year, Ernest Sisei Ikoli
Prize for Newspaper Reporter of the Year (which he
Continued on page 2

PPONENTS of fuel subsidy
removal may have lost the
battle, with President
Goodluck Jonathan insisting that his
mind is made up on the combustible
issue.
But former Head of State Gen.
Yakubu Gowon warned at the weekend that the government should pull

the brakes.
Nigeria’s infrastructure should be
revived before such a step is taken,
Gen. Gowon said.

The President disagrees. He would
prefer posterity to judge him than
see Nigeria grounded. If the subsidy
is not removed, Nigeria will be broke
within the next one and a half years,
Dr Jonathan said.

Minister of Information Labaran
Maku yesterday related details of the
weekend meeting between the President and leaders of Civil Society
Organisations (CSOs).
The government’s position may be
reflected in the 2012 Appropriation
Bill, which will be presented to the
National Assembly tomorrow.
President Jonathan insisted on the
withdrawal of subsidy during the
midnight session with civil society
leaders.
A Presidency source said: “The
Continued on page 2

•SPORT P24 •POLITICS P25 •CITYBEATS P31 •JOBS P49 •CEO P51

2

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

NEWS
Continued from page 1

•From left: Chairman Tony Elumelu foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu, President Goodluck Jonathan
and Former British Prime Minister Mr. Tony Blair during the Church Service at the Presidential
Villa Chapel in Abuja ... yesterday.
PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN

also won last year), and the
BAT Prize for Industry Reporter of the Year.
Cartoonist Azeez Ozi-Sanni
maintained his winning
streak, emerging the Nnamdi
Azikwe Cartoonist of the
Year.
Ololade also clinched the
Best Judicial Reporting
Award at DAME.
Editorial Board Chairman
Sam Omatseye won DAME’s
Prize for Informed Commentary.
He was a runner-up in
NMMA’s Columnist of the
Year category, which was
won by the editor of The
Punch, Adeyeye Joseph. Joseph also won the Dele Giwa
Prize for Editor of the Year.
The Nation’s Wale Alabi
also won the Coca-Cola Prize
for Brand and Marketing Reporter of the Year. Its former
Deputy Editor (Sunday),
Wale Adeoye, was a runnerup in the Lateef Jakande
Prize for Political Reporter of
the Year, which was won by
Newswatch’s Akaeze An-

The Nation clinches seven
awards at NMMA, DAME
thony.
Former Group Business
Editor Olatunde Kazeem
was a runner-up in the
Union Bank Prize for Banking and Finance Reporter of
the Year.
Chuks Udo Okonta, an Insurance reporter with this
newspaper, was nominated
for the IGI Prize for Insurance Reporter of the Year,
which went to Adenike
Popoola of The Punch.
The Punch won the
Babatunde Jose Prize for
Newspaper of the Year.
Other NMMA winners are:
Tope Adeboboye of The Sun
(Newspaper Features), Sunday Adedeji of TELL (Photographer of the Year), Tony
Manuaka of TELL (Bukola
Saraki Prize for Agriculture
Reporter of the Year),
Maurice Archibong of The
Sun (Olagunsoye Oyinlola
Prize for Culture and Tradition), Eric Dumo of Scroll

Gowon to Jonathan: don’t remove subsidy now
Continued from page 1

consultations have ended
and the President and his
team have decided that they
are not going back on the
withdrawal of subsidy and
deregulation of the economy
in particular.
“We have listened to all options or suggestions which
have to be implemented as
part of the deregulation of the
downstream sector. By Tuesday, the President will unfold
his agenda and how to go
about it.
To underscore his determination, the President reportedly told the leaders of the
civil society organisations: ‘I
know there will be some
pains, but we cannot go
ahead to borrow every time
to finance our economy and
capital projects’.
Jonathan also reportedly
said: “Even if we deregulate
and I am shamed, posterity
will be there to judge me, that
I did the right thing and I will
be vindicated when Nigerians start enjoying the benefits
of my decision.”
Three distinct groups have
emerged over the controversy surrounding the proposed withdrawal of fuel
subsidy.
There are those in support,
those against and the undecided.
Among those in support are
the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), the
Federal Executive Council
(FEC), National Association
of
Transport
Owners
(NARTO), oil marketers and
importers, the World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Those against are the
House of Representatives, the
Nigeria Labour Congress
(NLC), the Organised Private
Sector (OPS), the Civil Society Organisations (OPS), opposition political parties – the
Action Congress of Nigeria
(AC N), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the
All Nigeria Peoples Party
(ANPP) and the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
Those undecided are the
traditional rulers and the
Senate.
A statement by Minister of
Information Labaran Maku

‘Fix refineries before removing subsidy’

F

ORMER Head of State Gen.
Yakubu Gowon (rtd) yesterday
called for the repair of the refineries before the removal of fuel subsidy.
He said fuel subsidy should be withdrawn with minimal pain to the people
as he called for an end to importation
of petroleum products.
Gen. Gowon spoke in Umuahia
where, on behalf of the Carter
Fundation Centre, distributed mosquito treated nets and initiated collaboration with the Abia State government
on prevention of malaria.
He also visited the Government
House where he was received by
Deputy Governor Emeka Ananaba.
The former Head of State said:
“If all the refineries in the country are
working at normal capacity and importation of petroleum products is
stopped, the price of fuel will stabilise
and the suffering of the people will be
reduced.”
Gen. Gowon said if the contrary is
done, the prices of goods and services
will be too high for the common man,
adding that the problem that will come
on the outcome of the session
with
civil
society
organisations said the President gave reasons why the
government will withdraw
the fuel subsidy, which has
been put at N1.3trillion.
One of these is to “avoid the
option of borrowing which
will make life more difficult
for future generations of Nigerians”.
The statement added: “The
President said the policy of
deregulation is not aimed at
punishing Nigerians but to
create a conducive environment for private investment
to develop and modernise the
downstream sector of
Nigeria’s oil industry.
“The President said although Nigeria became a
crude oil exporting nation in
1958, it has failed to add
value to the sector.
“He said export of crude oil
means that Nigeria has
shifted job creation in the
downstream sector of the oil
industry and the real value of
our oil resources to foreign
countries which buy our
crude and export refined
products at three or four
times the cost to other countries.
“He said between 1958 and

From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia and
Mohammed Bashir, Lokoja

after it might be too much for those in
authority to handle.
He advised that the funds that will be
saved from the removal of fuel subsidy
should be channelled into infrastructure and other amenities.
On the late Dim Emeka OdumegwuOjukwu, the former Biafran leader,
Gen. Gowon said: “He was a man who
fought and defended the right of
Ndigbo for them to stand on their own.
His death is a great loss not only to the
Igbo race but to the entire country.”
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)
also warned President Jonathan against
withdrawal of fuel subsidy.
The Labour organisation urged the
President not to listen to the dictate of
the international monetary organisations
but re-direct his energy towards fulfilling his campaign promoters.
NLC Vice President Issa Aremu stated
Labour’s position in Lokoja at the weekend during the 10th year memorial colloquium in honour of the late Prof. Bade
Onimode.
He said fuel subsidy is a “dog action

now, Nigeria ought to be a
major exporter of refined
petro-chemical products to
the rest of Africa and the
world. This has not happened because government
has insisted on controlling
the sector to the detriment of
its growth and expansion.
“He said government has
since 2010 given 20 licences
to private investors who
want to set up refineries and
employ Nigerian youths, but
which have not taken off because of government price
control mechanism.
“He pointed out that the
situation we now face is that
following the discovery of
crude oil in neighbouring
countries of Ghana, Benin Republic, Chad and Niger, the
private investors who have
been waiting for policy reforms in Nigeria are now
shifting base to go and set up
refineries there.
“So, if Nigeria does not act
quickly by deregulating the
downstream sector, we will
soon face the embarrassment
of importing refined products from Niger or Ghana
into Nigeria.
“The President described
this option as unacceptable
because Nigeria has been an

sold to Jonathan by agents of the World
Bank”.
Describing the planned removal of
fuel subsidy as an abuse of the
President’s mandate, Aremu said: “The
President should follow his transformation agenda by first putting a stop to oil
theft, rehabilitation and construction of
new refineries as well as ensuring accelerated passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the National Assembly.
“Subsidy removal is the same old
song which Nigerians have been serially subjected to since the late 1980s.
Therefore, it must be rejected. The
struggle to halt this anti- masses policy
is not that of NLC alone, but the entire
people of Nigeria.”
Aremu said labour does “not know the
existence of any subsidy. We challenge
the government to prove their point,”
eh said.
According to him, the government is
only trying to hang the burden of the
failure of governance and the NNPC as
an institution on the already over
stressed Nigerians. There is no alternative to good governance, Aremu said.

oil producing nation more
than 50 years before those
other countries.
“The President, therefore,
urged
civil
society
organisations to appreciate
the urgency of reforming the
oil sector in order to open up
vast new opportunities for
Nigeria’s school leavers and
population of unemployed
graduates to be employed
into the new refineries and
petro-chemical industries
that will emerge after deregulation.
“He said government is
working with private sector
groups to establish three new
refineries which will refine
400,000 barrels of crude oil
per day into finished products for domestic consumption and export.
“He said if we add these
three new refineries, which
will be located in Kogi,
Bayelsa and Lagos states, to
the three existing refineries,
which are already being rehabilitated by their original
builders, Nigeria will, before
the end of his administration,
become a major exporter of
finished products.
“The President said this
will earn more revenue for
Nigeria and create opportu-

•Gen. Gowon

nities for employment of our
youths, which is a major priority of his administration.
“He urged the civil society
groups to carefully re-examine the difficult times we are
in, particularly given the very
low capital budget of 24 to
26% which government has
in recent years been left with.
Continued on page 60

(Bashorun MKO Abiola
Prize for Sports Reporting)
and Akeem Lasisi of The
Punch (Adamu Muazu Prize
for Tourism).
The First Bank Prize for
Business Publication of the
Year (Business Day) went to
Emmanuel
Uffot
of
Newswatch (The Guardian
Newspaper Prize for Investigative Reporter of the
Year), Ogunwale Kayode of
Business World (Capital Market Reporter of the Year),
Akingbolu Raheem of
ThisDay (Bank PHB for CSR
Reporter of the Year) and
Lucas Olumuyiwa, who won
three awards – Aviation Industry Reporter of the Year,
Nigerian Port Authority
Maritime Reporter of the
Year and Peter Odili Prize
for Energy Reporter of the
Year.
Others are: Helen Eni of
TELL (Sonny Odogwu Prize
for Business Reporter of the
Year) Chibue Amalaha of
The Nigerian Compass (Conoil
Prize for Energy Correspondent of the Year), Chris
Ajaero of Newswatch, Chevron Prize for Oil and Gas),
Adejuwon Soyinka of TELL,
who
won
the
Gani
Fawehinmi Prize for Human
Rights Reporter of the Year
and the Cecil King Prize for
Print Journalist of the Year.
Toyosi Ogunseye of The
Punch (NAFCON Prize for
Environment), SolaadeAyoAderenle of The Punch (Female Reporter of the Year),
WAMCO Prize for news
magazine (TELL), Deji
Bademosi of Channels (Television Reporter of the Year)
and African Independent
Television (AIT), which
emerged the Television Station of the Year.
Ololade said he was
pleased to win the awards.
He said: “I’m truly flattered by the awards and
even happier that Nigerian
journalism and news audience have grown to appreciate the potentials of good
features and Developmental
Journalism as a vehicle for
social transformation. My
heartfelt gratitude to The Nation, my family, individuals
and communities who
spurred me to project such
appreciable journalism.”
Ozi-Sani said: “I am elated
and honoured by the award,
especially after last year’s
nomination and award of
NMMA’s Cartoonist of the
Year. I am particularly
pleased to receive official
recognition for my efforts in
using art as a form of commentary on social ills and
political happenings.
“The latest award further
strengthens my resolve to
work harder to promote the
ideals of my medium, The
Nation, and the Nigerian society in general.”
The Chairman of Ideas
Communications, organisers
of the awards, Mr. Yemi
Akeju, announced the increment of the prize money
from N25,000 to N50,000. He
said the prize will become
N100,000 next year.
Akeju also announced the
endowment of two new categories, Foreign News Reporter of the Year by Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who
hosted the event, and Property and Real Estate Reporter
of the Year by Nigerite Nigeria Limited.

NIGERIA may not meet the
2012 deadline of transiting
to digital transmission, the
Director-General of Voice of
Nigeria (VON), Abubakar
Jijiwa, said over the weekend.
The International Telecommunications Union
(ITU) set 2015 as the deadline for the transition from
analogue to digital, but the
Federal Government
decided on 2012.
Jijiwa, who spoke in Abuja
at a lecture organized by the
Radio, Television, Theatre
and Art Workers Union of
Nigeria (RATTAWU), said
the transition would generate
employment.
According to him,
challenges facing the process
of the transition in less than
seven months may obstacles
against the set date.
He said private media
stations may find it
difficult to cope with
subsequent challenges
that may usher the
transition. The DG attributed information technology as one of the challenges that may prevent
the country from meeting
the deadline.
Others, he said include
funding, technical disadvantages, power and poor
attitude of political
leaders
He said the advantages
inherent in digital transmission outweigh the
challenges adding that
besides increasing channel
and programme content;
the transition would meet
peoples’ entertainment
and information demands.
He said: “Switching to
digital broadcasting by 2012
will provide enough job
opportunity. It will lead to
production of more airtime
as well as address the
country’s unemployment
challenges. People can as
well have better access to
informative and entertaining programmes.”

Catholic Church

‘How Belgore, Mark came up
with Doctrine of Necessity’
A
FORMER Special Adviser on Media and
Publicity to the late
President Umar Yar’Adua,
Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, has
unveiled those behind the
Doctrine of Necessity, which
led to the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan as
acting President last year
when the late President Umaru Yar’Adua was critically ill.
He said the credit should go
to a former Chief Justice of
Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore,
and Senate President David
Mark, and some former state
governors, who agreed to a
Doctrine of Necessity.
He also gave insight into
the cold war between
Jonathan and the late President Yar’Adua, which dated
to the early part of their administration.
Adeniyi made the revelations in his book, Power, Politics and Death- A front row account of Nigeria under the late
President Yar’Adua, which is
due for presentation tomorrow.
He said: “Gathered in the
office of Vice- President Goodluck Jonathan on the morning
of Friday January 5, 2010, were
PDP national chairman, Chief
Vincent Ogbulafor, deputy
national chairman, Dr. Haliru Bello as well as national
secretary, Abubakar Baraje.
Also in the room were Senate
president David Mark; his
deputy Ike Ekweremadu; and
House of Representatives
Speaker, Dimeji Bankole.
There were also the Kwara
State governor and chairman
of the Governors’ Forum, Dr
Bukola Saraki; the AGF, Mr.
Mike Aondoakaa and Chief
Mike Oghiadome, Jonathan’s
principal secretary. The single item on the meeting agenda was the Justice Abutu ruling which held that the VP
could act for the President
without any formal transfer

From Yusuf Alli,
Managing Editor, Northern
Operation

of power.
“Leading the discussion
was Aondoakaa, who argued
that with the judgement, the
political crisis had been resolved because the VP could
then begin to act for the President. He was backed by Saraki and Bankole, with Ogbulafor, Bello and Baraje also
leaning towards endorsing
the position. But there was
strong resistance from Mark,
who argued that the Justice
Dan Abutu judgment offered
no practical solution because
there was no way Jonathan
could forward bills or any official correspondence to the
Senate in his capacity as VicePresident and expect it to be
accepted.
“Bankole, however, said
the House would have no
problem with receiving such
correspondences
from
Jonathan. That created a stalemate. At that period, Mark had
concluded that the only way
forward was for Jonathan to
have constitutional power to
be Acting President.
“He also believed that the
people around the President
were not helping matters by
using the subterfuge to hide
the critical nature of his health
from important stakeholders.
At the time, Mark was used to
receiving phony calls from
Saudi Arabia by officials who
would ask him “to wait for
the President” only to be told
after a few minutes that they
would call back because the
President who had ‘initiated’
the call could no longer be
reached.
“Because Mark was aware of
what was going on, he sought
to know from Aondoakaa and
the governors what objection
they had to making Jonathan
the Acting President. Appar-

ently uncomfortable with the
question, they all said that
they had none and praised the
Vice-President.
“Yet, what they were proposing was to use Jonathan to
avert a constitutional crisis
created by the absence of the
President without legally investing Jonathan with the
power to act in his stead. At
the end, the meeting could not
reach any useful conclusion
because Mark was insistent
that the Senate was not going
to recognise the Abutu ruling.
“Apparently sensing that
the crisis was getting more
complicated, the Senate president spent the weekend making a series of consultations.
First, he invited the lawyers
among the Senators to a meeting where he mandated them
to review Abutu’s judgment
and give him advice within
48 hours. He also told them to
invite Aondoakaa to brief
them before they came up
with their conclusion.
“At his session with the
lawyer-senators, the AGF
could only convince a few of
the members about the need
to use the Abutu judgment to
resolve the crisis, as the majority of the senators felt
there was no solution in the
ruling.
“On Monday, January 8,
Mark received in audience a
group of prominent citizens,
among them Lt. General T.Y.
Danjuma and former Chief
Justice of the Federation, Justice Alfa Belgore. It was agreed
at the meeting that Yar’Adua
would never have allowed the
kind of crisis the nation was
going through if he was in a
position to intervene, so the
conclusion was that he was
oblivious to what was happening in the country. It was also
resolved that the National Assembly had to intervene to
save the situation.
“In the course of discussion,

Mark had casually asked Belgore, “Your Lordship, the logical thing to do now is to make
Jonathan Acting President.
How do you think we can
navigate this situation legally?” Belgore had said the constitution recognised the Doctrine of Necessity, which he
said the Senate could apply.
“Mark had actually toyed
with the idea of the doctrine,
but instructively, Justice Abutu’s ruling (which had Aondoakaa’s imprint) had categorically stated that the Doctrine of Necessity would not
apply in resolving the crisis.
“But with Belgore arguing
that it was the most plausible
solution, Mark decided that it
was the way the Senate would
go. He called his deputy, Ekweremadu and told him of what
had transpired, and after calling a meeting of the principal
officers, where the idea was
easily bought by all, he asked
that the House leadership be
kept up to date about the thinking of the Senate.
“At this point, Mark
brought in a small group of
professionals to brainstorm
on how the doctrine should
be applied within the fine details of the law. It was at the
meeting that someone suggested that since there was a
BBC interview credited to
Yar’Adua (though many were
sceptical that it was actually
him who had spoken), that
would suffice in making a
strong case in lieu of a letter
to the National Assembly.
“With the plan in place,
Mark then had informal sessions with many members of
the Senate, and within 24
hours, he had the support of
most senators. By then, the
House had also decided to
take a similar position on the
issue.”
Adeniyi traced the crisis of
confidence between Yar’Adua
and Jonathan to the early days

•The late Yar’Adua

of their administration.
He added: “Early in the
life of the administration,
Jonathan had written a
memo to the President seeking for his office to be selfaccounting. Specifically, he
requested that the Office of
the Vice-President be given
the same role and responsibility that were enjoyed by
Atiku Abubakar before he
fell out of favour with
Obasanjo.
“After a meeting held at
the VI between the duo and
attended by the Principal
Secretary and Chief of Staff,
the memo was turned down
in favour of ‘one presidency.’
“Even if Jonathan could forget that slight, his aides definitely could not because they
were more affected by the
decision. So, when the opportunity came for their boss to
become the main man at the
Villa, it was no surprise that
they led the charge.
“On the home front, Mrs.
Patience Jonathan was also
preparing to be the First Lady.
As early in the administration
as December 2007, a group of
women had paid her a visit,
and in the course of the discussion, one had asked: “how
is Oga?
“To this, Mrs. Jonathan replied: “My husband is in the
office reading newspapers.”
Then she added in Pidgin English, rather sarcastically:
“Abi no be newspaper Turai
(Mrs. Yar’Adua) say make im
dey read?

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

4

NEWS
‘Stop retiring non-teaching
staff at 60’
HE Federal Gov-

T

•The Trauma and Burns Centre at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Annex, Gbagada, Lagos built by the Lagos
State Government. INSET: Governor Babatunde Fashola SAN (secon right) being conducted round the hospital by the Project
Director, Deux Project Limited, Dr. Walter Olatunde (left). With them are: Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris (right),
Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr Yewande Adeshina (middle) and Field Operations Manager, Deux
Project Limited, Mr. Jimmy Householder (second left). Story on Page 57

ASUU STRIKE

NLC urges Fed Govt to honour 2009
agreement with ASUU
T

HE Nigerian Labour
Congress (NLC) has
urged the Federal
Government to declare a state
of emergency in the education
sector.
It said the rot in the nation’s
education sector demands urgent intervention.
NLC expressed its support
for the on-going strike by
members of the Academic
Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU).
It urged all Nigerians, who
seek improvement in the
country’s standard of education, to support ASUU’s demand for more funds in the
sector.
NLC, in a statement by its
Head, Information and Public Relations, Chris Uyot,
urged the Federal Govern-

By Eric Ikhilae

ment to learn to respect agreements.
It said: “It is rather sad that
a government, which should
be the custodian of the Rule
of Law and trust, could so blatantly breach a Collective
Agreement it freely entered
into with the union.
“This bare-faced dishonesty and derision for education
displayed by an administration that ostensibly espouses
transformation is not only
treacherous, but scandalous.
“Given these glaring facts,
it is sad for the Federal Government to be so prodded into

appreciating this dismal situation through strikes.
“More worrying is that its
indifference to positive actions speaks volumes about
those we have mandated to
rule over us - a collection of
self-seeking, greedy and insensitive ruling class. The
agreement on the minimum
wage and its non-implementation by some state governments and even the Federal
Government is a case in
point.
“Any employer or government that violates Collective
Agreements with impunity is
only inviting baskets of strikes
and social chaos. And if that is

the wish of the ruling class,
the labour movement is ready
for it.
“The rot and decay in our
institutions of learning demands a declaration of a state
of emergency in the education
sector.
“Thus, we support the perseverance, consistency and
patriotism displayed by
ASUU and call on students,
workers and all Nigerians
who mean well for this nation
to stand by the union in this
defining moment of the struggle for improved standard of
education and sustainable
human capital in our country.”

Unilorin VC backs union

T

HE Vice-Chancellor
of the University of
Ilorin (Unilorin),
Kwara State, Prof. Isaq
Oloyede, has urged the Federal Government to honour its
agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) in 2009.
Oloyede said this would
end the ongoing strike by
members of the union and prevent further decline in the education sector.
ASUU has been on strike for
nine days. It is seeking more
funding and provision of needed facilities in universities,
among others.
Oloyede spoke in Abuja at
the Unilorin Alumni Associa-

From Gbenga Omokhunu,
Abuja

tion Dinner/Lecture, with the
theme: ‘Nigerian education
sector: the role of the Alumni
Association.’
He said: “The Nigeria university system is a single body.
Though Unilorin is not taking
part in the strike, yet, we feel
the same way.
“The Federal Government
has been a bit slow in attending to issues arising from the
2009 Agreement. It could have
been faster. The Nigerian university system needs a lot of
restructuring and government
should not relent when it
comes to policy decision. It
should stop acting at if it is at

gun point.
“Credibility matters and
government should not agree
to do what it does not have
the capacity to do, no matter
the pressure. It is hourable
for government to honour its
agreement with ASUU. There
are certain things that may
not be practicable, but it
would have been better if
those things were not agreed
on.
“It is too late for government to back out of that agreement. There is need for a realistic appraisal of the agreement. I advise government to
be more careful if another
agreement is to be signed. I
believe there is always room
for dialogue and ASUU

should be more realistic in its
demands.”
National
President,
Unilorin Alumni Association,
Mr. Taoreed Odedele urged
President Goodluck Jonathan
to look into the funding of
universities.
Odedele said: “Today, university education is becoming
unaffordable to the less privileged in the society. The government should come to their
rescue, so that in line with the
mandate of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs),
education will be available to
all and sundry.
“I appeal to youths to avoid
being used to cause mischief
and unrest in the name of agitations.”

CNPP condemns Education Minister over comment

T

HE Conference of
Nigerian Political
Parties (CNPP) has
urged the Federal Government to honour its agreement with ASUU, describing
the union’s demands as “patriotic and rational.”
It condemned a statement
credited to the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufia, that the universities were
supposed to implement the
2009 Agreement with their
Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
A statement by CNPP Na-

From Gbenga Omokhunu,
Abuja

tional Publicity Secretary,
Osita Okechukwu, reads:
“ASUU’s demands are patriotic and rational. We call
on the President to, as a matter of urgent national importance, honour the 2009 Agreement.
“While parents must contribute in training their children, we believe federal and
state governments have
enough money to adequately fund our universities.
“The source of funding fed-

eral and state universities
must be that of government,
with parents supplementing;
not the other way round.
Why is the President building more universities, if he
cannot fund existing ones?
“How will Nigeria be enlisted among the 20 strong
economies by the year 2020,
if the federal and state governments fail to invest in human capital development?
“We call on the education
minister to issue an unreserved apology to Nigerians
for the neglect of her duties

and for insulting our intelligence.
“A diligent minister
would have made sure that
the 2009 Agreement between the government and
ASUU is implemented fully.
What her statement shows is
that she is less concerned
about the future our children.
“We thought that as a professor, she would be pushing Mr. President, who is a
former lecturer; to get the
best for universities and other educational institutions.

ernment has directed universities’
Vice-Chancellors to stop retrenching non-academic
staff at the age of 60.
The directive is a move by
the Federal Government to
halt another strike.
The workers had threatened to go on strike owing
to the Federal Government’s
failure to implement the
2009 Agreement.
They are under the auspices of the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior
Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU),
under the Joint Action Committee of NAAT, NASU and
SSANU.
The contending issues in
the agreement are the implementation of the 65 years retirement age; improvement
in the funding of universities and staff allowances; and
career structure for technologists on grade levels 14 and
15, among others.
Rising from a meeting in
Abuja with Education Minister Prof. Ruqayyah Rufai
and Labour Minister Emeka
Wogu, SSANU President
Comrade Samson Ugwoke
said the ministers assured
them that the issues would
be resolved soon.
Ugwoke said SSANU is
convinced that the government is doing everything to
ensure accelerated passage of
the bill on the 65 retirement
age and other related issues.
He said the ministers told
the unions’ leaders that the
Vice-Chancellors of the universities have been directed
by the government not to retire any member of the unions who clocks 60 years or
has served for 35 years, pending when the issue will be
finally resolved.
Ugwoke said the ministers told them to report any
Vice-Chancellor that disregards the order to them.

From John Ofikhenua,
Abuja

He said the ministers assured them that their allowances would be improved in
the 2012 Budget.
Ugwoke said the three unions gave the Federal Government 30 days to implement the agreement.
He said: “As a result of appeals made by both ministers, we resolved to grant
the government a grace of
30 days, beginning from December 9, within which the
contending issues should be
fully resolved and implemented. “If the government
fails to honour the agreement after 30 days, we shall
resume our suspended
strike without further notice.”

Group sues
Fed Govt
A CIVIL society group,
Socio-Economic Rights and
Accountability Project
(SERAP), has sued the
Federal Government for
the alleged failure to release information and
documents on the spending
of recovered stolen funds”.
The suit was filed last
week at the Federal High
Court, Ikeja, Lagos, followed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the
Accountant-General of the
Federation on September 26.
The motion ex parte
brought pursuant to Section
20 of the Freedom of Information Act, and Order 34 of
the Federal High Court
(Civil Procedure) Rules,
2009, and signed by
Adetokunbo Mumuni,
SERAP Executive Director.

PUBLIC NOTICE
AJALA
I,formerly known and addressed
as Miss Mojisola Ajala, now wish
to be known and be addressed as
Mrs Mojisola Titilayo Onifade.
All former documents remains
valid . General public should take
note.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

5

NEWS

Survivors relive
Jos explosions
•‘Explosions not caused by bombs’

S

URVIVORS of the explosions in Jos, the
Plateau State capital,
yesterday relived their ordeals.
Police yesterday said the
explosions in Jos, the Plateau State capital were not
bombs.
One of the victims, who
was at a Viewing Centre,
Bukky Michael, told The
Nation: “We were watching
the Barcelona and Real
Madrid match when we
heard a very heavy blow.
We were about 150 watching the match when it happened; all of us were
trapped. It was by the grace
of God that many survived.
It was a miracle, but the injury on some people is so
severe that they may have
to be amputated. Some are
sure to become handicap as
a result, but I than God my
own is minor injury, I was
not admitted.”
Another victim Ajik Magaji, who sustained fracture
on the left hand, Said: “The
impact of the bomb was
minimal because it was
dropped beside the Viewing
Centre. If it was planted inside, the hall no one would
have survived.”
Police Public Relations
Officer ASP Apev Jacob
said: “The explosives were
not bombs but Improvised

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu
and Marie-Therese Peter,
Jos

Explosive Devices (IED)
which are locally made.”
He added:”The explosions happened at three different locations, one happened at Tina Junction, another one at Ondus, Bauchi
Ring road and the third is
at a place called City of David, all of them are located
along Bauchi Ring Road,
Jos.
“The scene of all the three
blasts are football viewing
centers and only one person
was confirmed dead by our
men the 14 that sustained
injuries were rushed to the
Jos University teaching
Hospital and are responding to treatment, some were
treated and discharged immediately.
“Our men in conjunction
with the military in the Special Task Force (STF) ‘Operation Safe Haven’ had
moved in immediately and
have restored calm there to
forestall breakdown of law
and order and they have
been stationed there for the
mean time until further notice” said ASP Jacob.
The explosions which occurred almost simultaneously in three different
locations in Jos, the Plateau
State capital on Saturday

From top: Magaji, Michael and one of the Viewing Centres affected by the explosions.

night has resulted in the
death of four persons. One
of the victims died instantly
while three others died later in the hospital where they
were being treated.
The incidence also left at
least 25 people terribly injured as a result of the blast.
Neighboring residential
houses were also affected
due to the heavy impact of
the bomb. Residence of the

Task Force restricts Okada in Jos

T

HE Special Task Force
(STF) on Sunday
banned commercial
motorcycles, known as ‘Okada’, from operating in Jos
beyond 7pm, following the
bomb blasts that occurred in
some parts of the city on Saturday night.
The STF, the team in-charge
of keeping peace on the Plateau, announced the ban in a
press statement, signed by
DSP Ikemefuna Okafor, for
the media officer of the task
force.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a triple bomb blast rocked three
television viewing centres
within the Jos North Local
Government Council on Saturday night.
One person was killed
while 14 others were injured.

“The general public and the
good people of Plateau should
be informed that no motor
cycle will be allowed to operate beyond 7.p.mwithin the
Jos-Bukuru metropolis.
“Riding of motorcycles is
only permitted from 6.a m –
7p. m, the enforcement of this
ban will be strictly enforced,”
the statement read.
The statement said the ban
would strictly be enforced and
warned that defaulters would
be prosecuted.
It advised all law-abiding
citizens of the state to go about
their legal businesses as the
task force was on top of the
situation.
STF said: “Any act of lawlessness shall be met with the
full weight of the law.’’
The Chairman, Plateau
State chapter of the Red Cross

Society, Mr Panpe Manasseh,
told NAN that two of the four
injured persons taken to Bingham Hospital, had been treated and discharged.
Meanwhile, the Plateau
government has condemned
the blasts which it described
as “acts to deliberately instil
fear into the minds of the people’’.
The Commissioner for Information, Mr Yiljap Abraham, told NAN that it was
“shocking’’ that some people
were still bent on “causing
maximum injury to civilians’’
despite of the general resolve
to live in peace.
Abraham urged the public
to be vigilant wherever they
were gathered and report suspicious movements and items
to relevant security authorities.

Immigration accuses politicians of
importing foreigners for election

T

HE Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at the
weekend accused politicians of importing foreigners into the country for election.
It said it arrested some foreigners who wanted to vote
in the last general elections in
Esan West and Estako Central
Local Governments of Edo
State.
Edo State Assistant Comptroller of Immigration, Odiawa Fredrick made this known
in Benin during an interactive
session between reporters

From Osagie Otabor,
Benin

and security agencies.
Odiawa Fredrick said the
arrested foreigners were handed over to the police for prosecution.
His words: “Our politicians
encourage aliens to register
and vote during elections.
Most of our efforts are frustrated. We arrested some in
Owan West and Estako Central in the last election.”
The Assistant Comptroller
blamed existing ECOWAS

Protocol for the influx of foreigners into the country but
said many of them were registered to stay and work in the
country.
Also speaking, Commander 4 Brigade of the Army, Brigadier General Obi Umahi said
the special security outfit
“Operation Thunderstorm”
has recorded success in its
fight against crime in the state.
Brigadier Umahi said several kidnappers and robbers
have been killed and arrested
since the security outfit was
established.

affected areas were left
sleepless for the remaining
part of the night as no one
knew what to expect.
Though the Chief Medical
Director of the Jos University Teaching Hospital
(JUTH), Dr. Ishaya Pam,
was not available to confirm
the casualties, a nurse at the
mortuary section, who

pleaded anonymity, said
two bodies were brought to
the mortuary.
The police confirmed one
dead and 14 injured.
The impact of the explosive at Tina Junction shattered roofs, ceiling and
glasses of surrounding residential houses. One of the
residents, Mrs, Rhoda Den-

nis, said: “The impact on our
house is so severe that any
little wind can blow away
the roof of the house because all the ceiling are shattered and the roofing woods
had cracks all over, we will
require at least N2. 5 million
to repair the four bedrooms
flat and four rooms boys
quarters.”

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

6

NEWS
Wike urges
PTAs to align
with Unity
Schools’ revival
HE Minister of State
for
Education,
Ezenwo
Nyesom
Wike, has urged Parents’/
Teachers’
Associations
(PTAs) to key into the
Federal
Government’s
revival of unity schools.
The minister spoke when
he visited the Federal Government College, Kwali in
the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said the Federal Government would collaborate
with PTAs to transform
unity colleges into centres of
excellence.
According to him, investments by PTAs in developing schools would sustain
them.
Wike hailed the PTA of
Federal Government College, Kwali, for rehabilitating its boys’ hostels.
He said: “I encourage PTAs
to
invest
in
the
development of facilities in
unity colleges. I am impressed by what the PTA of
Federal Government College, Kwali, is doing. The
total rehabilitation of the
school’s boys’ hostel by the
PTA is commendable.”
The minister added that
the Federal Government
was working out modalities
to absorb part-time teachers
recruited by the PTAs.
A statement by the Special
Assistant (Media) to the minister,
Mr
Simeon
Nwakaudu, quoted Wike as
saying he would continue
his direct assessment of
schools to keep head
teachers committed.

HE Court of Appeal
sitting in Kaduna has
dismissed the case
filed by former Jigawa State
Governor Saminu Turaki of
the Action congress of Nigeria (ACN) challenging
the election of Senator
Danladi Sankara of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP).
Justice Abdu Aboki dismissed the petition for want
of merit.
He reaffirmed the judgment of the tribunal, delivered in Dutse, the Jigawa
State capital, on October 10,
which upheld Sankara’s
election.
Justice Aboki noted that
the former governor failed
to produce sufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations in his petition.
The court said the witnesses called by the petitioner damaged his case, instead of strengthening it,
saying this compelled the
court to rule in favour of the
respondents.
Justice Aboki said: “This
court cannot grant the appeal because the petitioners
had all the opportunity at
the trial to prove their allegations but failed to do so
at every stage. Even the witnesses called by the petitioners ended up enhancing
the case of the respondents.
“Consequently,
this
appeal is hereby dismissed.
No order for cost.”

Experts to discuss fuel subsidy removal
•Nigerians ‘to decide by polls’ •Ahmed seeks NBA’s assistance
ROFESSIONALS,
stakeholders
and
other Nigerians will
assemble in Abuja today to
discuss the proposed removal of fuel subsidy and
the deregulation of an
emerging economy in Nigeria.
A statement in Abuja by
the Dean, Faculty Board of
the Initiatives, Eseme
Eyiboh, organisers of the
10th national roundtable,
said the choice for the topic
was informed by the prevailing discourse in public
domain on subsidy - for and
against - and the need to enrich the discussion with informed knowledge to raise
public enlightenment and
education on the matter.
He noted that emerging
economies, of which Nigeria
is one, constitute approximately 80 per cent of the global population and represent about 20 per cent of the
world’s economies.
Eyiboh said: “This statistics
accounts for regions of the
world that are experiencing
rapid knowledge-economy
under conditions of limited
or partial industrial growth.

P

From Onyedi Ojiabor,
Assistant Editor and Gbenga
Omokhunu, Abuja

“This framework provides
for the study of how the
non-industrialised nations
of the world are achieving
unprecedented economic
growth using new energy,
telecommunications and information technologies
within a deregulated
system.
“Can Nigeria, with its vast
potentials in human and
material capital, take advantage of global order for her
growth drive? Is deregulation feasible in a society
with a high level of
corruption and ineptitude?
“Is the continued government subsidy of basic products sustainable and economically viable? Is government regulation of
products and services
productive or counterproductive? Is the basic issue
of deregulation unduly
politicised and to that extent
suppressing its basic
function and value?”
Eyiboh, who is member of
the House of Representatives, noted that these are

the questions for the experts
and which the 10th national
roundtable seeks to resolve.
He said stakeholders
would be provided with the
requisite knowledge and
capacity to take appropriate
measures for “our national
growth and sustenance.
Those expected at the talk
shop include Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole;
Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) Governor Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi; former CBN
Governor, Prof. Chukwuma
Soludo; Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu; Prof.
Garba Ganiyu of the Department of Economics, Ahmadu
Bello University, Zaria.
House of Representatives
Speaker Aminu Waziri
Tambuwal is the Chief Host
of the event scheduled for
this week.
Nigerians
will
be
opportuned to contribute to
the debate on the proposed
fuel subsidy.
The discourse for and
against government’s plan
has been raging between
proponents and opponents
of the policy.
Addressing reporters in

Abuja at the weekend on
how Nigerians are expected
to vote for or against the
fuel subsidy removal, Chief
Tony Chigbo, the Principal
Consultant of Gallop Polls
Nigerian Limited, said both
camps would have unhindered access to print and
electronic media.
He said: “As a responsible
corporate organisation,
Gallop Polls is poised to
provide the empirical
platform for views of the
majority to count even as
their votes counted in the
April 2011 general elections.
Democratic norm and tenets
dictate that majority have
their way while minority
have their say. The judgment
of those who voted for
change in the April 2011
general elections must be
contended with in policy
formulation
and
implementation.
Most
polices of government, like
the case in point have consequences that operators of
government may never ever
have to face or experience.
The input of those that will
face and bear the brunt of
these consequences becomes

Delta model Akagbue
wins GUS 8

Mark backs
minister over
sanction of
BA, Virgin

ELTA State-born model, Christopher
Akagbue Okechukwu, is the winner
of the eighth edition of the adventure reality show, Gulder Ultimate Search
(GUS), sponsored by the Nigerian Breweries
Plc.
The 25-year-old emerged victorious last night
after completing a gruelling task ahead of two
other finalists. He discovered the supposed “second lost helmet of General Maximillian” purportedly hidden in Egbetua quarter, Ososo forest in Akoko Edo in Edo State.
The undergraduate of Sociology of the University of Lagos has won N7 million prize
money, a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) worth N10
million and a wardrobe allowance of N500,000.
An awrd ceremony will hold at the Flamingo
Hall of Best Western Hotel in Benin, the Edo
State capital.
The reality show, which used to have 10 to 12
contestants playing for 21 days, fielded 30 contestants in the last 13 weeks in this year’s edition, shooting up budget for logistics and the
prize money.
Kelvin Durst and Anastasia Azike had a tie
and became the first runners-up with N2.5 million prize money. The second runner-up gets
N1 million, followed by the third runner up
who gets N800, 000. The fourth, fifth and sixth
in line get N750,000, N700,000 and N650,000. The
seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th contestants will
get N650,000 N600,000, N550,000 and N500,000.
The other 20 participants had been assured of
N150,000 each, while a special prize of N1 million would be awarded to the last woman standing, Anastasia Azike.
•Akagbue carrying the ultimate treasure

D

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

T

From Jide Orintunsin,
Minna

developments
in
the
country, discussed security
challenges and the outcome
Sambo
arrived of the efforts by northern
Babangida’s
home
at leaders to resolve the Boko
12.30pm yesterday and left at Harham menace in the reabout 1.40pm, a source close gion.
to Babangida told reporters.
Both leaders were said to
Though security aides to have reviewed the position
the Vice-President barred of the North on the 2015 elecreporters from entering tions, resolving to ensure
Babangida’s home, the that a President comes from
source said Sambo was in the region in 2015.
Minna to parley with the
Before Sambo arrived, his
former military leader, who advance security aides dijust returned to the country rected reporters to leave,
after a six-week medical saying the visit was not for
treatment in Germany.
the media.
It was learnt that both
“This is a private visit. It
leaders reviewed political is not for media coverage.

ENATE President
David Mark at the
weekend said the National Assembly was behind the Minister of
Aviation, Princess Stella
Adaeze Oduah, on the ministry’s decision to fine
British Airways and Virgin
Atlantic for overcharging
Nigerian passengers over
the years.
Speaking at the flag-off of
domestic flights at the international terminal of the
Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport,
Abuja, Mark praised the minister for maintaining her
ground on the Bilateral Air
Services Agreement (BASA)
issue.
He said: “I commend her
(minister) for standing her
ground. She has made us
proud, and the Senate is behind you anytime. I have
never doubted the ability of
Oduah.”
The Senate president lamented that Nigerian airports were formerly not befitting of the nation’s status, adding that the impression of any visitor on arrival at an airport is the determinant of that country’s
image.
Mark said: “An airport is
what you use in judging any
nation, because the very first
impression starts at the airport. We lacked standard facilities until now.”
Decrying the poor maintenance culture among Nigerians, the Senate President
said the facilities must be
kept clean and used properly
when completed.
Oduah promised that by
2013 Nigeria would have befitting airports for the comfort and safety of air
travellers.

S

Sambo holds talks with IBB in Minna
HE need to reposition
the North for the 2015
elections might have
been on top of the agenda of
a secret meeting between
Vice-President
Namadi
Sambo and former military
President, General Ibrahim
Babangida, it was learnt yesterday.
The meeting, which a
source said lasted over an
hour,
was
held
at
Babangida’s
Hilltop
Mansion in Minna, the Niger
State capital.
Deputy Governor Ahmed
Musa Ibeto, Senator Isaiah
Balat and two others were
present.

a matter of justice and inalienable right…”
Kwara State Governor
Abdulfatah Ahmed has
urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to explain
the intricacies in the proposed fuel subsidy removal
by the Gederal Government
to ordinary Nigerians.
The governor said the issue requires technical, economical and general understanding to enable the
nation know that beyond
the removal of fuel subsidy,
there are other implications,
especially on what would
give the ordinary person
succour.
He promised that the state
government would partner
the association and uphold
the rule of law to develop
the state.
Ahmed urged the NBA to
ensure that the needs of the
people reflect in the ongoing constitutional amendments.
The governor spoke at the
weekend in Ilorin, the state
capital, at this year’s edition
of the annual Bar dinner and
award ceremony at the Government House.

How did you people (reporters) get the information of
the Vice President’s visit?
Please, you should go. It is a
private visit,” the security
aide said.
But Commissioner for
Information
Mallam
Abdulhamid, who was also
at Babangida’s home,
addressed reporters.
He said: “The VicePresident was on a private
visit. He only came to see his
father. It was a private visit.”
Babangida returned to
Minna on Wednesday. He
was flown abroad six weeks
ago for the treatment of an
undisclosed ailment.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

7

NEWS

Fayemi: you can’t be leader if you are not competent
•Governor lectures at third
reunion luncheon of Council
of One-Day Governors

E

KITI State Governor Kayode
Fayemi yesterday emphasised
the need to groom the youth
for leadership based on the doctrines
of character development, integrity,
honesty and fear of God.
He also called for the re-evaluation
of politics, saying that those who enter public offices through politics
must also have alternative jobs they
can return to when they leave power.
Fayemi said while grooming a successor, self-development, professional competence and pursuit of good
name should not be compromised
by those aspiring to future leadership.
The governor delivered a lecture
titled: “Breaking the limits: Preparing the next generation for leadership”. It was part of the activities
marking the third reunion luncheon
of the Council of One-Day Governors” organised by the New Era
Foundation in Lagos.
The founder and President of the
foundation, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who reflected on the success story of the ‘Spelling Bee Competition
and other activities of the non-governmental body, described education
and character training as the best legacies for the younger generation.
The ceremony, which was held at
La Scala Restaurant, Muson Centre,
Onikan, Lagos, was witnessed by the
wife of the Lagos State Governor,
Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, her Ogun
State counterpart, Mrs. Olufunso
Amosun, wife of Ogun State deputy
governor, Mrs Funmi Adesegun, Lagos State Education Commissioner
Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, his Home
Affairs counterpart Oyinlomo Danmole, Chief Rasak Okoya and his
wife, Sade, the Asoju-Oba of Lagos,
Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas,
former Education Commissioner Dr

Alluding to the remarks on the
leadership crisis in Nigeria by Prof.
Chinua Achebe, the frontline novelist, Fayemi cited leadership as a
critical challenge.
Praising Senator Tinubu for her
educational programmes spanning
11 years, Fayemi said the New Era
Foundation had built a successor
generation of leaders through education and leadership training, adding that these efforts were unparalleled in the country in recent times.
He disclosed that his administration has taken the cue in Ekiti State
by resuscitating leadership training
organisations that were moribund
in schools, including the Boys’
Scout, Girls Guide, and debating
societies.
The governor alluded to his own
upbringing, recalling that his Chris-

tian parents taught him that character was better than wealth and a
good name more important than
material acquisition.
Stressing that youths should remember the children of whom they
are, the governor, who relived his
life as a mass server in the Catholic
Church, said that what guided his
actions in life were the core values
of integrity, honesty, commitment,
compassion and fear of God.
He said the same principles that
motivated his participation in prodemocracy crusades also propelled
him to enter politics as a means of
serving the society.
Fayemi also spoke on the elements
of leadership, including courage,
commitment, determination, accountability, resilience, humility,
sharing attitude, passion, compas-

Governors give fresh conditions
to back Wealth Fund
G

OVERNORS
will
make a new request at
today’s National Economic Council (NEC) – voluntary participation in the
Sovereign Wealth Fund
(SWF).
Besides, they are mounting
pressure on the Presidency to
concede 30 per cent equity to
them in the distribution companies of the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
President
Goodluck
Jonathan has got legal advice
from the Attorney-General of
the
Federation,
Mr.
Mohammed Bello Adoke
(SAN), to go ahead with the
implementation of the Fund,
which the states opposed, saying it is illegal.
Prior to the advice, about
$1billion seed capital had
been deducted from the 36
states share in the Federation
Account.
Opposition parties, such as
the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Labour Party
(LP), the All Progressive
Grand Alliance (APGA), and
the Congress for Progressive
Change (CPC) kicked.
The Presidency has been
trying to woo the opposition
to buy into the SWF.
But some governors are
insisting on voluntary
contributions to the SWF account.
A governor, who spoke in
confidence, said: “We are
almost striking an accord on
the implementation of the
SWF so that there will be no
recourse to court action.
“The agitation of some of us

‘The states
have also asked
the Federal
Government not
to deduct their
funds to finance
SWF without
consultations’
From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

is that it should be made
optional for states - in line
with the principle of fiscal
federalism.
“The Federal Government
has reached an agreement
with us that after the
withdrawal of $1billion from
our share of the Federation
Account into the SWF, it will
no more tamper with our
allocations.
“The states have also asked
the Federal Government not
to deduct their funds to
finance
SWF
without
consultations, with only the
states that are interested. We
have no grudge, if the Federal
Government decides to divert
all its resources into the SWF
Account.
“So, if these terms are
acceptable to all the parties,
the SWF can then take off
effectively.”
The governor also claimed
that at today’s NEC meeting
in Abuja, states will make a

case for the acquisition of 30
per cent equity in power
distribution companies as a
precondition for backing
deregulation of the power
sector.
The session might also be
devoted to a preview of the
2012 Budget and the last phase
of plans to withdraw fuel
subsidy.
He said:
“We are
demanding the 30 per cent
equity because if you remove
the states’ assets from
distribution companies, they
are nothing. We buy and
install most of the transformers and yet they do not want
us to secure equity.
“Take the case of Rivers
State, which is generating
520MW; why will the state
not
own
equity
in
distribution companies?
“Every issue keeps coming
into the nature of our
federalism which we need to
revisit and make it to reflect
true federalism.”
On the fuel subsidy
withdrawal, the governor
said: “We have not resolved
the question or nature of
palliatives. The Federal
Government wants to do a
copy or a replica of the
defunct PTF but they have not
got it right.
“They want to decide the
palliatives to execute in all
the states but we do not want
that. This is also one issue we
may discuss at the NEC
session.”

sion and discipline, noting that a
leader cannot also lead from the
rear. He challenged the youth never to do in private that which they
cannot do in the public because
nothing is beyond the view of others.
“It is better you do something that
is morally defensible,” Fayemi counselled.
The governor said when politicians are deficient in honour and integrity, especially when they cannot
keep their words, they sink in credibility crisis.
He however, cautioned that hope
is not lost in polity, pointing out that
the “Lagos example” in the last 11
years has shown that credible leadership is possible in the country. He
said good leaders should be able to
protect their followers and exhibit
humility without being weak.

LL is set for a stressfree traffic on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway during this year’s edition of the Holy Ghost Congress (HGC), the Redeemed
Christian Church of God
(RCCG), assured yesterday.
The HGC, a week-long end
of the year festival of the
RCCG, opens today at the
Congress Arena, Redemption Camp, Kilometre 46/48,
off the highway.
According to the Traffic/
Safety Committee, those
coming into and exiting the
camp ground should adhere
strictly to the regulations to
avoid causing undue pains to
other motorists from today
to Sunday morning, when
the curtain would be drawn
on the programme.
A statement by the committee reads: “To make your

stay comfortable and ensure
your exit from the camp comfortable, smoothly and unhindered, we would appreciate if you observe and comply with the under-listed directives.
“In extreme circumstances,
the operatives on ground
may impose additional restrictions or diversions to
ease congestion.
“Arguing and contravening these regulations causes
undue delays, traffic pains to
other road users. We implore
you to be considerate to others and sincerely crave your
indulgence to diligently obey
the Marshalls who are posted for your comfort and convenience.”
The committee advised
those attending the congress
from Lagos to approach the
Arena through Lotto Road by
the NNPC Filling Station after Deeper Life Camp
Ground and Damaturu Road
entrance, about 250 metres
after Lotto.
It also urged those coming
from the Ibadan and Ijebu
ends of the expressway to enter through Car Park C entrance, Main Gate and the
Youth Centre entrance.
Specifically, it warned that
those without the appropriate
vehicular pass, would not be
allowed access into Car Park
B, which it said was reserved.
“If you don’t have the current 2011 sticker, stuck on

your windscreen, please park
in Car Parks C, D and F, as
well as Resident Car Park”,
the committee urged.
It warned that the perimeter roads around the Arena
have been restricted to categories of participants.
For instance, Perimeter 1,
with access to Haggai, Next
Level and Brook Estates and
CRM Shops has been reserved
as a pedestrian only zone from
noon till 30 minutes after service throughout the week.
Perimeter 2, which runs behind the altar next to Car Park
Park B, has been restricted to
vehicles carrying physically
challenged, protocol, Assistant General Overseers (AGOs)
and Elders.
Perimeter 3, running parallel to Perimeter, has also been
reserved as another pedestrian zone, with controlled vehicular access strictly for protocol and officiating ministers.
It said: “All other vehicles
must use the Ring Road. Parking around the Arena Perimeter and on any road in the
vicinity of car parks is strictly
prohibited. Any vehicle
found there will be towed.”
To avoid vandalism and
theft, the committee warned
that owners would neither be
permitted to stay inside their
vehicles nor allowed to stay
within any of the parking
bays, adding that no vehicle
would be allowed to exit the
camp during the service except through the main gate.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

8

NEWS
ACN wins Ekiti
Rep seat
From Sulaiman
Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

THE candidate of the
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Oyetunde Ojo,
has emerged winner of the
rerun in Ekiti Central
Federal Constituency II,
held at the weekend.
Ojo had 27,338 votes. His
closest contender, Mr.
Kehinde Odebunmi of the
Peoples Democratic (PDP),
polled 17,344.
The results of the other
candidates are as follows:
OlaOluwa Fasakin (Alliance for Democracy (AD)),
425 votes; Sayo Fatayo (All
Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA)), 46 votes;
Peter Bamigbade (National
Transformation Party
(NTP)), 153 votes; Israel
Ogunleye (Labour Party
(LP)), 69 votes; and C.O.
Oluwafemi (All Nigeria
Peoples Party (ANPP)), 106
votes.
The Returning Officer
(RO), Dr. Akintunde Aremu, said 46,540 persons
voted in the election and
2,059 votes were rejected.
The National Commissioner of the Independent
National Electoral Commissioner (INEC) in
charge of Ekiti, Oyo and
Ogun states, Prof. Laye
Olorode, and the Resident
Electoral Commissioner
(REC) in Ekiti State, Alhaji
Halilu Pai, praised the
people and security operatives for the peaceful
conduct of the election.
The PDP rejected the
result of the election,
alleging malpractices in
some wards.
ACN’s Director of Media
and Publicity Akogun
Oguntayo described the
party’s victory as “a result
of the excellent performance of the Governor
Kayode Fayemi administration.”
Oguntayo said: “There is
no doubt that those who
voted overwhelmingly at
the Saturday election
voted based on the performance of the governor,
because four months is not
enough to measure the
candidate’s performance in
the National Assembly.”

Aregbesola lists conditions
for
development
O

SUN State Governor
Rauf Aregbesola has
said the panacea to
the socio-political and economic problems of the nation lies in identifying with
the best brains in the
academia.
Aregbesola spoke at the
10th anniversary of the late
Marxist Economist, Prof.
Bade Onimode, in Lokoja,
Kogi State, at the weekend.
The late Onimode was a
former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of
Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, and
an
internationally
recognised Marxist, who
preached against capitalism.
Represented by the Chairman of Osun Tours, Mr.
Abimbola Daniyan, Aregbesola praised the contributions of thelate Onimode to
the economy.
He said: “It is easy to recall the late Onimode’s skillful analysis and suave explanation of complex ideas in
the simplest of terms. He
made information accessible

•Governor speaks at 10th anniversary of UI DVC

From Adesoji Adeniyi,
Osogbo

to both academics and the
common Nigerian on the
pages of newspapers in the
peculiar days of the IMF
loan, anti-SAP debates and
the Fuel Subsidy Debate
called ‘To take or not to take.’
“The government harangued us with ‘one litre of
petrol is cheaper than one
bottle (30cl) of coke, and so
the price of fuel must go up
to stop petrol smuggling!’
“I remember the late Onimode’s highly informed
contributions at the famous
debate at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs,
Victoria Island, Lagos,
about 25 years ago, where he
said ‘Nigeria consumes what
it does not produce and produces what it does not consume.’ And he went on to il-

lustrate it by asking each
one to look at what they
were wearing.
“That simple step swung
the debate against taking
the IMF loan for SAP and it
still resonates. That is the
stuff of the organic intellect
that was Bade Onimode.
“I am confident that our
academia, with all the shortcomings in the system, has
many more of the Bade Onimode ilk. The point is to not
let their efforts go to waste.
Nigeria remains complex
and the unanticipated political forces now playing the
violent roulette is foreboding of serious troubles
ahead.
“The population mix is favourable, but it is not favoured by the current disposition of state financing
without re-directing, with
which Nigeria stands no

chance.”
On unemployment, the
governor said: “The large
number of youths must find
gainful engagements in enterprise and employment.
Achieving this demands a
change in the education system. It includes injecting
huge sums into transforming education and converting it into a directly productive force.
“The goal of teaching and
learning is to produce capable minds, who will not be
afraid to use their hands and
intellect to confront the challenges of life.
“We must rid the land of
mass poverty, hunger and
the irrelevance that we see
everywhere in Nigeria today. Time is running out.
Life is still a struggle to be
fought and won.”

Amaechi to criminals:
we’ll get you

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

V

ICE-Chairman,
Ondo State House
of Assembly Committee on Finance and
Appropriation, Akindele
Adeniyi, has debunked
the rumour that Governor Olusegun Mimiko
gave lawmakers N1 million each to pass the 2011
reordered budget.
Adeniyi, who represents Akure North Local
Government Area on the
platform of the Labour
Party (LP), spoke with reporters at the weekend.
He said the reordered
budget was passed in the
interest of the people.
Adeniyi
said
the
amount budgeted for the
year was not altered, but
funds were moved from
inactive sectors to areas
where they are needed.

Why I joined Ondo
ACN, by ex-Senator

T

Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko (right) presenting the Television Station of the Year
award to the Chairman of the African Independent Television (AIT), Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, at
the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA), in Akure, the Ondo State capital...at the weekend

‘Mimiko didn’t
give us N1m’

HE former Deputy
Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) in the
Southern Senatorial District of
Ondo State, Senator Omololu
Meroyi, has joined the Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
Meroyi and his supporters
were received into the ACN
in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area, by ACN State Secretary Adedipe Adegboyega;
one of the party’s national
leaders, Mr. Sola Iji; and the
State Women’s Leader, Arelu
Mobola Johnson.
Meroyi said he joined ACN
to pursue the progressive
agenda of the late Chief
Obafemi Awolowo and help
the people.
He said: “ACN is a reformed Action Group (AG)
and Alliance for Democracy
(AD). Since we in Yorubaland
know the impact of these political parties then, there is no
excuse for not joining ACN.
“It will be wrong for us to

From Leke Akeredolu,
Akure

seat and continue to watch a
governor reorder his 2011
budget at a time when his colleagues are presenting their
2012 budget to their state assemblies.
“Many of the industries that
tackled unemployment in the
state in the past were established by the late Pa Adekunle Ajasin, but previous and
present governors failed to
develop them. That is why
many of our graduates are jobless.
“For instance, during the
practice of progressivism by
the late Awolowo, the first television station, stadium, university, among others, were
established in the Southwest.
“Since ACN is a reform of
AG and AD which were
known as progressive parties,
we must adopt this party in
the Southwest and Nigeria in
general to ensure rapid
development.

R

IVERS State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has reassured the people of his administration’s readiness
to clamp down on robbers and put an end to the
criminality in Port Harcourt and other parts of the state.
To achieve this, Amaechi said, the Army will be deployed
to work with the police in Port Harcourt.
The governor spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt at a
thanksgiving organised in his honour and Supreme Court
Justice Mary Odili by the Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt at the Corpus Christi Cathedral Church.
According to him, “If we could fight the militants, why
can’t we fight armed robbers? We will put the Army on the
streets until the armed robbers will run away.
“We are tired of pleading with armed robbers to return
their guns to the police. We will put the Army on the streets
because we believe that the police needs support.
“I will plead with those whose children are robbers to
tell their children to stop.
“The current one we hear is that there is a woman leading a gang of three, we will arrest her. For us as a government, that will be our new year gift to our people, that
woman and her gang will be arrested and prosecuted”, he
assured.
Speaking on road projects, Amaechi said government
would take advantage of the dry season to complete ongoing projects.
“I hear your complaints, and I know you are angry about
roads. For the Ada Geoge road, it will be completed, the
contractor is slow, he gave us March, let us be patient, the

•Amaechi (left); his wife, Judith; Catholic Archibishop of Port Harcourt Most Rev C. A. Etukudoh; former Rivers State
Governor Peter Odili (right); and his wife, Mary...yesterday
only thing I will assure you of is that rainy season will
not meet us on that road again. Another road you people
complain of, is the Rumuepirikom road, it is been worked
on”, he said.
Governor Amaechi also called on the church to partner

with government for national and state development.
“Let the church continue to be a holy church and a conscience to the society and the nation, the church should call
public servants and our leaders to account for their roles
in our lives.”

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

9

NEWS

Woman killed, two injured in
Kaduna village attack

A

WOMAN was killed
and two others sustained
gunshot
wounds following an attack
on Kukum Dutse, a village in
Kagoro, Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
“The village was attacked in
the midnight; one person was
killed while two sustained
gunshot wounds.
“As we speak, the two are
being taken to hospital in Jos
for operations to remove the

bullets lodged in their bodies,’’ Mrs Florence Aya, the
Chairman of the local government, told the News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in
a telephone interview.
She described the attack as
“very strange and wicked”,
pointing out that the villagers had always been “very
peaceful”.
Mr Elihu Adamu, the Police
Commander for Kafanchan
Area Command, confirmed

the attack. She said the
command was yet to arrest
suspects but had begun investigations into the incident.
“We have visited the scene
of the attack along with the
Chairman of the local government, Mrs Florence Aya. One
person was killed and two
others escaped with gun
wounds.
“Those with the gun
wounds have been taken to
Bingham Hospital in Jos, but

we are on top of the situation,” he said.
Yahaya Dadai, the Sole Administrator, Kagoro Development Area, who accompanied
the victims to Bingham University Teaching Hospital,
Jos, said they were in “stable
condition”.
“We have just been sent to
the X-Ray department preparatory to the removal of the
bullets. By God’s grace, everything will be okay,” he said.

Christians demand apology from ACF over
Aminu’s statement

C

HRISTIANS in the
North, under the
auspices of Concerned Northern Christians,
yesterday demanded an
apology from the Arewa
Consultative Forum (ACF)
for allegedly allowing Prof.
Jibril Aminu to call for the
proscription of the Christian
Association of Nigeria
(CAN).
But ACF said Aminu never
insulted anybody during his
presentation at the Kaduna
conference for peace.
It noted that the unionisation of the religious body has
allowed politics to creep into
the pulpit.
In a statement entitled:

•‘Ex-senator didn’t insult anyone’
From Tony Akowe,
Kaduna

ACF organised Jibril Aminu
to denigrate Nigerian Christians, by its Coordinator,
Yahuda Peter Marsa, the
group noted that the former
senator’s statement was
capable of causing genocide
in the North in particular and
the nation in general.
According to them, the
long silence by the forum is
an indication that the comment Aminu had the bless-

ing of ACF, adding that if
Christian elders had made a
similar comment about Islam, there would have been
a crisis.
The group’s statement
reads: “We are bound by obligation, again, to unequivocally state our position regarding Prof Aminu’s
call for the proscription of
CAN at the just-concluded
talkshow and waste of funds
by a group of persons who
are largely responsible for
the rot northern Nigeria is

Family of slain man protests bail for accused

T

HE family of a retired
fire officer, Mr. Luka
Ayabam, who was
killed by unknown gunmen,
has petitioned the InspectorGeneral of Police following
the bail granted the accused.
It alleged that the prosecution was shoddy and compromised.
The petition, which was
signed by Mr. Oscar
Aorabee, the Managing
Counsel of Elohim Chambers in Makurdi, Benue
State, urged the InspectorGeneral to take over, properly investigate and prosecute the accused.

Fire guts Funtua
market in Katsina

A

N early morning
fire yesterday
destroyed 20 shops
at the Funtua Central
Market in Katsina State,
the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
NAN correspondent, who
was at the market, reports
that property worth millions of naira were destroyed by the fire, which
started at 2am and burnt
till dawn.
The cause of the fire
could not be determined.
The fire was put out by
the combined efforts of
firemen from Katsina State
Fire Service, policemen, the
Nigeria Security and Civil
Defence Corps (NSCDC)
and officers at the National
Drugs Law Enforcement
Agency (NDLEA) with
some residents.
The items destroyed
included textiles, electronics jewellery and provision.
Malam Salisu Foli, a
victim, who sells textiles,
described the incident as
the will of God.
He said no one could
explain the source of the
fire.

From Uja Emmanuel,
Makurdi

A Makurdi Chief Magistrate’s Court, presided over
by Mrs. Cecilia Bakare, last
Wednesday, granted bail to
nine persons standing trial
over the murder.
Mrs. Bakare said there was
no prima facie evidence be-

fore the court to indicate that
the accused killed the deceased.
Those granted bail included Mr. Salem Atsehe,
Director General Services
and Administration of Gwer
local government area in
Benue State who was alleged
to be the mastermind of the
killing.

in today, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).
“Recently, we condemned
CAN’s endorsement of the
removal of fuel subsidy, because Nigerians deserve
more than what we are getting, and we are not in any
way blinded by sentiments,
or biases...”
In a text message to The
Nation, ACF spokesman,
Anthony Sani, said: “I did
not hear Prof Jibril abuse
anybody or group. But I
know some of you in the
media would prefer to hear
insults and not any positive
thing the speakers said that
could bring about peaceful
existence. I thought the Prof
said the unionisation of religions make it possible for
politics to creep into religious cockpit with dire consequences on the polity.”

‘UNILORIN 49’ back in court
over non-reinstatement
From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

T

HE reinstated 49 teachers of the University of Ilorin
(UNILORIN) by the Supreme Court have again taken
the university authorities to court to enforce the implementation of the judgment terms.
The lecturers, popularly known as “UNILORIN 49”, are
asking the Federal High Court, Ilorin, to direct the university to comply with the terms of the Supreme Court judgment, including the payment of their allowances and promotion benefits.
The recent developments came after talks broke down between the university and the lecturers, who were meeting
with the university through their lawyer, John Baiyeshea
(SAN).
Baiyeshea had, in a letter in May to the university, said
only a full implementation of the orders of the court would
be acceptable.

Kwara ACN accuses PDP of lying

T

HE Kwara State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has accused the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) of
lying over the execution of
infrastructural development
in the state.
In statement, the state ACN
chairman Kayode Olawepo
said: “Our attention has been
drawn to a news features in
one the newspapers entitled:

From Adekunle Jimoh,
Ilorin

Revisiting Dangerous Ohan
Bridge Linking Kwara and Benin
Republic.
Olawepo noted that “in the
said article, the Kwara State
Government claimed to have
“fixed” the Ohan bridge and
that a total N15million was
expended on the reconstruction of this very important
bridge.

I’ll rule Benue till 2015, says Suswam
From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

B

BENUE State Governor Gabriel Suswam has said he
would rule the state till 2015 when a new governor
would be elected.
Speaking at the first Sankera New Yam Festival in
Zakibaim, the governor urged the residents to disregard
rumours that the court would soon sack him.
He said nobody owns the election tribunal.
Suswam noted that elections have come and gone, saying a
government is in place to lead the stste.
The governor urged the residents to team up with his administration to develop the state.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

10

NEWS
Finbank sues Edo over alleged
N7.611b debt

Sylva to PDP: your decision
can’t stand
B

AYELSA State Governor Timipre Sylva at
the weekend spoke of
his commitment to the governorship race next year.
He described the Peoples
Democratic Party’s (PDP’s)
decision to send the name
of the aspirant, which it
cleared, to the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a charade.
“The party’s decision cannot stand,” Sylva said.
In a statement by his Chief
Press Secretary, Doifie Ola,
the governor said: “This unfortunate decision of the
PDP is condemnable in every democratic sense.
“But it is all part of a serial illegality that began since
preparation for the governorship election in the state.
“It gathered momentum
and reached a frightening
height with a November 19
primary held against the order of a court of law, and despite the absence of INEC.
“The action has been condemned by all and it is only
natural that anything emanating from that process
cannot stand. Nothing has

‘We are confident that the
truth will
emerge at the
end of the day
and, by the grace
of God and the
will of the people, we will be
re-elected’
changed from this truth.
“As for me and my able
deputy, Werinipre Seibarugu, we remain committed
to the February governorship election in Bayelsa
State under our great party,
the PDP.
“We are confident that the
truth will emerge at the end
of the day and, by the grace
of God and the will of the
people, we will be re-elected.

“The regrettable misadventure of PDP does not
change the fact that we are
in court challenging the illegal conduct of PDP in the
Bayelsa State governorship
race and it is only the court
that will have the final say
in the matter.
“Those trying to plant the
seed of illegality at INEC
must realise that Nigeria is
a country governed under
laws and PDP cannot afford
to be a lawless fiefdom
within the democracy.”
Sylva appealed to his supporters to remain calm and
positive, saying, “We are
confident in the ability of
the judiciary to return sanity to the political situation
in our state, so that together again we shall continue
the patriotic task of taking
our state to the next level.”
Sylva condemned INEC’s
acceptance of the candidate
from the November 19 primary.
,“Even though INEC has
not announced a shift in its

T

•Sylva

well advised rejection of the
November 19 charade, it is
only instructive to warn that
INEC, a critical institutional bulwark against political
arbitrariness, must resist the
temptation to be drawn into
the mucky waters of autocratic partisanship, which
those who nurse a morbid
fear for democracy and free
choice have reduced the
Bayelsa governorship race
to.”

No third phase of amnesty programme, says Jonathan

T

HE chances of some
youths joining the postamnesty programme
dimmed yesterday as President Goodluck Jonathan said
there would be no third phase
of the programme.
He said the programme
closed on October 4, 2009,
when the deadline for disarmament expired.
Jonathan spoke through the
Special Adviser on Niger Delta Matters, Kingsley Kuku.
The President said youths,
who are clamouring for another phase of the programme,
should explore other employment opportunities.
Kuku spoke at the weekend
at a pre-departure ceremony
in Lagos, where 214 ex-militants were sent to India for
vocational training.
The ex-militants will be
trained in electrical installation, under-water welding,

HE Edo State Government has been sued by
one of its bankers, Finbank Plc, over an alleged
N7.611 billion debt.
In the suit filed before the
Federal High Court, Lagos,
the state’s Accountant General is the sole defendant.
The bank is seeking a court
order to appoint an arbitrator to adjudicate on the dispute between parties in accordance with the Arbitration
and Conciliation Act, Cap
A18 Laws of the Federation
of Nigeria.
Finbank stated that its
prayer was informed by parties’ failure to agree on the
choice of an arbitrator as required under Clause 25 of the
agreement between them.
The bank averred in its
originating application, that
the state, through the Office
of its Accountant-General, via
letters dated November 13,
2007 and May 5, 2008 applied
for a term loan and overdraft
facilities to enable it augment
the finance of roads and other development projects.
It stated that the state, in
September 2008, requested
that the overdraft facility be
merged with the term loan
facilities and subsumed under the term and condition

auto mechanics, pipeline fitting, crane operation as well
as non-destructive testing.
Jonathan said the Indian
batch is the largest batch.
This brings to 2,214 the
youths who are undergoing
vocational programmes in different countries.
The President condemned
the blocking of the LokojaAbuja highway by some 1,600
ex-militants last Thursday.
He said the protesters cannot blackmail the government
through such display of illegality.
Jonathan described the style
adopted by the protesters as
offensive, a blackmail and
breach of national security.
His words: “Resorting to a

breach of public peace by taking the laws into their hands
is against the spirit of non violence, for which genuine exmilitants are known.
“It will be completely out of
place for anybody to doubt
that the post-amnesty programme has succeeded.
“We’re warning detractors
not to erode the many benefits the programme has
brought to the Niger Delta and
the country.
“In the first phase of the programme, 20,192 were enrolled
by the Amnesty Office demobilisation camp in Obubra,
Cross River State.
“The demobilisation of the
second batch of 6,166 will complete their training by December 20.
“The Amnesty Office has

successfully placed 7,556 exmilitants in skills acquisition/
training centres as well as in
formal education centres.
“In all, the beneficiaries are
in 33 training centres in the
country.”
On the blocking of the Lokoja-Abuja Road, the President
said: “It is unfortunate that our
brothers are mistaking the
word development growth,
empowerment, education, to
mean amnesty.
“ Why did I say so, this programme is targeted at the people, who accepted the amnesty offer since October 4, 2009
,when that window closed,
anybody who is still carrying
arms after that time is carrying criminal weapons, it behoves the security agencies to
go after them.”

By Eric Ikhilae

applicable to the term loan
agreement.
Finbank stated that the
state utilised the facilities, but
has allegedly refused to meet
up with its obligation under
the loan agreement, despite
several requests.
It averred that the facilities
were secured by an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order
(ISPO) on the federal allocation account for the state,
which was then domicilled
with the bank.
The ISPO, the bank stated,
allowed it to make deductions from the state’s allocation account. It stated that
since the state moved its allocation account to another
bank later in 2008, it has allegedly reneged on its obligation under the loan agreement.
The bank accused the state
of refusing to repay the loan,
despite making some concessions to the respondent.
Finbank averred that the
state’s current indebtedness
now
stands
at
N7,
611,161,895.33.
Although the case would be
mentioned for the first time
on December 15, Edo State is
yet to file any response.

Uduaghan advises monarchs
From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

D

ELTA State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan at the
weekend urged traditional rulers to sensitise and
enlighten their subjects on government policy and
programmes.
Uduaghan spoke when he presented the staff of office to
the ruler of Ughievwen Kingdom, Matthew Edirin Egbin, in
Otu-Jeremi, Ughelli South Local Government.
He said monarchs enlighten their subjects on programmes
and policies of the state.
Represented by Deputy Governor Amos Utuama (SAN),
the governor promised to support traditional institutions ,
saying that “as a system of government at the grassroots, the
institution must be encouraged to perform.

Auchi Polytechnic graduates 6, 535

A

TOTAL of 6, 535 students of the Federal
Polytechnic, Auchi,
in Edo State, have been
awarded National Diplomas and Higher National
Diplomas.
Also Governor Adams Oshiomhole; former state
Chief Judge Justice Constance Momoh; former Education Secretary, Prof. Abraham Imoge and the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical
Education (NBTE), Dr.
Mas’udu Kazuare were con-

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

ferred with Honorary Fellowships.
Speaking at the conferment during the 19th Convocation, Minister of Education Prof. Ruqayyatu
Ahmed Rufai said the Federal Government was worried over poor performances of students in school certificate examination, decrepit infrastructure, outdated equipment, inadequate funding and lack of
commitment of teachers.

Ibom Airport gets
anti-bird strike device
By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

T

O check the increasing menace of bird strike and other
wild life hazards in the airspace, the Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo, has launched an anti-bird and
wild life system.
In a statement by the airport’s Head, Public Affairs, Mmek
-Abasi Akpabio, the technology, which is known as Cordless Land Air Wild Life System (CLAWS), was inaugurated
on December 9 by the Airport Implementation Committee
(AIC).
According to experts, the device is capable of reducing
bird-strike and other wildlife hazards by at least 80 percent.
The representative of Avian Systems Corporation of Kentucky, United States, Ankit Chudgar, revealed that the
CLAWS technology has “only been installed in Akwa Ibom
International Airport in the whole of Africa”.
He revealed that the device was first installed by the stretch
of the run way and that it will be mobilised every 15 minutes before take offs and landing to scare away birds or
wildlife intrusion.
The Chairman of AIC, Air Cdre Idongesit Nkanga, said
the airport has pioneered the technology on the continent
because “the issue of bird- strike and wild life hazard has
almost become a nightmare in the global aviation industry,
Ibom airport inclusive.”

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

11

BUSINESS
THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

CBN’s e-payment
campaign for Abuja

T

HE last leg of campaign
by the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
to sensitise Nigerians to embrace the e-payment system,
is slated for Abuja tomorrow.
The exercise, which is meant
for states in the North/Central zone, would hold at the
Main Auditorium of CBN.
The mobilisation train,
which kicked off in Lagos
nearly a fortnight ago, saw
top officials of the apex bank
criss-crossing six geo-political zones to mobilise
stakeholders.
Lagos, Port Harcourt,
Enugu, Gombe, Kaduna were
the rally points. The mobilisation train at various points
of call witnessed impressive
turnout of participants.
The Acting Director, Banking and Payment Services system Department of the CBN,
Mr G. I. Emokpare, said the
purpose of the forum was enlighten participants as important public sector players, on
the approved guidelines on
the operation of the e-payment system and to seek their
support and buy-in so as to
ensure successful implementation and adoption.
Emokpare said other objectives of the forum was to
present the approved Guidelines on electronic payments
of Government Suppliers, all
forms of Taxes in Nigeria; and
Salary and Pension in Nigeria
to the stakeholders as part of
the overall implementation
strategy.
He also said they planned
to give participants the opportunity to clarify issues for better understanding where necessary to ensure successful
implementation; to sensitise
the stakeholders about their
thoughts on the new guidelines and to as well as receive
feedbacks from participants.
”As you are aware, the Central Bank has been in the forefront in promoting e-payments in the country. In this
regard, the Bank recently released three important frameworks on electronic payments to guide both the public and private sector stakeholders.

The fact is the longer the
regulatory uncertainty of a
Petroleum Industry Bill
(PIB) in equally uncertain
form hovers over the
industry, the greater the
likehood that crucial
investment is delayed.
-Diezani Alison-Madueke,
Minister of Petroleum
Resources

Nigeria’s fourth fast growing
economy, says World Bank
N
IGERIA’s economy is
the fourth fastest
growing worldwide,
a World Bank official, Richard Sandock, has said.
He listed other countries
that recorded significant
growth in their economies
to include the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India
China,
Speaking at the Seventh
National Conference on Investment in Abuja at the
weekend, Sandock said:
“Nigeria has slowly been
coming up and has finally
taken over from Russia and
South Africa. “
Nigeria had recorded a
Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) growth of 10.3 per
cent, 10.6 per cent, 5.4 per
cent, 6.2 per cent, 7 per cent,
6 per cent, 7 per cent and 7.4
per cent in 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and
2010 . As the second quarter
of 2011, the country’s
economy had grown by 7.72
per cent and is projected to
hit 7.98 per cent by the end
of the year.
The World Bank official

From Franca Ochigbo,
Abuja

noted that all sectors of the
economy contributed to the
growth, adding that in spite
of the growth, Nigeria is still
facing serious crisis in the
labour market.
“In spite of the huge
growth Nigeria is making,
the labour market is still
very choked up, as about
four million Nigerians are
jobless.Though there are
changes in Nigeria, most
times, it is not about incentives, but the system of the
government.
“The system should be
there for every kind of
change. Investors need stability and predictability,
meaning in 10 years, their
investment will be as protected as the day they came
into that country,” he said.
Sandock, said, all the government needs is to ensure
that the environment is conducive and safe for business
to thrive. These days, it is all
about the Public-Private
Partnership (PPP), let inves-

tors do their thing, that is
most important in any growing economy, he added.
Two leading experts Pricewaterhouse Coopers
(PwC) and researchers at
Standard Chartered Bank,
had earlier the year predicted that the Nigerian
economy would overtake
that of South Africa.
Some economies of the
biggest seven emerging
countries (China, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia,
Mexico and Turkey – the E7),
as well as South Africa, Nigeria, Argentina, Saudi
Arabia and Vietnam, will by
that time be bigger than
those of the G7 (the US, Japan, Germany, Britain,
France, Italy and Canada),
according to the report published on the website of
Fin24.
PwC’s The World in 2050
report, forecast that Nigeria
and Vietnam will replace
South Africa and Australia’s
positions on the list of the
20 biggest economies in the
world simply because their
economies will show faster

growth.
Also, analyst at Standard
Chartered said Nigeria’s
GDP would overtake South
Africa’s by 2015.
Speaking in Lagos, Regional
Head
of
Research, Africa Global Research, Standard Chartered
Bank, Razia Khan, had also
forecast that by 2015, Nigeria would be the fourth most
populous country in the
world..
South Africa, which is currently the largest economy
in Africa, is eager for elevation to the coveted BRIC status of emerging markets, but
investors say Nigeria is a
more probable African contender, even if promotion
for either is some way off.
Khan however, maintained that for these projections to be attained, Nigeria
needs a lot of structural
growth.
She also said the planned
removal of fuel subsidy by
the federal government
would help correct a lot of
distortions in the Nigerian
economy.

‘Banks
transactions in
FCT down by
74%
From Nduka Chiejina,
Assistant Editor

C

HEQUE transactions
in the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) declined by 74.16 per cent over
the past year, the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has
said.
The drop was attributed to
the successful implementation of the electronic payment system introduced by
the Federal Government
and the limit of N10 million
placed on the value of clearing cheques.
The Branch Controller,
C B N , A b u j a , J o h n
Chukwudifu, who gave the
figure on Friday night in
Abuja during the yearly
dinner of the Abuja Bankers’ Clearing House Committee, said a total of 1.02
million financial instruments valued at N831.53
billion were processed
through the clearing house
by the end of November,
this year, as against 3.96
million cheques valued at
N2.56billion processed in
the corresponding period of
2010.
”This shows that there is
a drop in the use of cheque
and an increase in electronic
payment. Local and up-coming country cheques are considered cleared after two
clearing days. The Federal
Government policy on epayment and the limit of
N10 million placed on the
value of clearing cheques are
strictly being adhered to in
the clearing house,” he said.

HE Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) third
quarter deposits and
liabilities result for the
banks have grown to N19.7
trillion. This represents 8.9
per cent increase over the
level at the end of the preceding quarter.
The funds, which were
sourced, largely, from the
increase in their unclassified
liabilities and mobilisation
of demand deposits were
used mainly to increase reserves and extension of
credit to the private sector.
A CBN circular on third
quarter economic report
shows the apex bank’s credit
to the banks, largely, loans
and advances, rose by 3.1
per cent to N396.5 billion at
the end of the review quarter.

By Collins Nweze

Also, banks’credit to the
domestic economy rose by
13.3 per cent over the level
in the preceding quarter to
N12.3 trillion while total
specified liquid assets of the
banks stood at N2,trillion,
representing 17.9 per cent of
their total current liabilities.
The development was attributed, largely, to the 151.4
per cent increase in net
claims on the Federal Government.
According to the CBN report, the liquidity ratio fell by
20 percentage points from the
level at the end of the preceding quarter, and was 12.1 percentage points below the
stipulated minimum ratio of
30 per cent. The loans-to-deposit ratio fell by 1.5 percent-

age points below the level at
the end of the preceding quarter to 43.4 per cent, and was
36.6 percentage points below
the prescribed minimum ratio of 80.0 per cent.
Total assets/liabilities of the
discount houses stood at
N333.8 billion, indicating an
increase of 20.9 per cent over
the level at the end of the preceding quarter. The rise in assets was accounted for,
largely, by the 54 per cent increase in claims on the Federal Government, reinforced
by the 5.3 per cent increase in
other assets.
Correspondingly, the increase in total liabilities was
attributed, largely, to the increase of 51.1 and 30.6 per cent
in the level of other liabilities
and money-at-call, during the
period.

Discount houses’ investment in Federal Government securities of less than
91-day maturity rose significantly by 347.5 per cent to
N55.71 billion and represented 23.6 per cent of their
total deposit liabilities. At
this level, discount houses’
investment was also 36.4 percentage points below the
prescribed minimum level of
60.0 per cent for this fiscal
year. The quarterly report
showed that there was no
borrowing by the discount
houses, while their capital
and reserves stood at N49.8
billion.
Non-oil receipts stood at
N667.3 billion, exceeding the
budget estimate, the levels in
the preceding quarter and the
corresponding quarter of 2010
by 11.1, 34.3 and 27.9 per cent.

TANDARD Chartered is
discussing with regulators
to offer Islamic banking
services in Nigeria and Oman,
now that both countries are revamping their regulatory environments to encourage Islamic
finance, the bank’s global head
of Islamic banking yesterday.
Wasim Saifi, according to
Reuters News, said the firm,
which already has a strong conventional presence in both markets, was waiting for the countries to finalise their regulatory
frameworks for Islamic banking but could offer the services
in Oman and Nigeria as early
as next year.
“We are definitely evaluating
the possibility of offering Islamic banking in Oman and
Nigeria,” Saifi told reporters.
“The opportunity is tremendous. We are in discussions
with regulators.”
Nigeria’s central bank has
been pushing to boost Islamic
banking in West Africa’s largest economy. The central bank
has approved the creation of
the country’s first Islamic bank,
Jaiz Bank, and Nigeria will seek
to launch a debut sovereign
sukuk in the next year.
Oman said in May that it
would open the door to Islamic
banking and let conventional
lenders run sharia-compliant
operations in a bid to keep investment funds in the Gulf
state.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

12

ISSUES

â&#x20AC;˘A table of FAAN revenue progression

With over N22billion debts owed the airport authority by foreign and domestic airlines, the
aviation sector is in a deep crisis. Will the regulatory agencies ever recover these debts? KELVIN
OSA-OKUNBOR asks as he examines the implications of the debt overhang on the industry.

Burdened by huge debts
U

NLESS something urgent is done,
the aviation sector risks being
grounded because of huge debts
owed the regulatory agencies. Tongues
are wagging over how the agencies will
run such a safety and security related industry in the face of the debts.
Investigations conducted by The Nation
revealed that foreign airlines and domestic operators were owing the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria( FAAN), over
N22.9 billion as at last September.
The debts, incurred from the non-payment or delayed payment of landing and
parking fees and other aeronautical
charges, are so huge stakeholders are wondering why the agencies left the debts to
build-up without applying the brakes at
some point.
Questions are being raised whether it is
a universal practice, or something peculiar to Nigeria. Why are the airlines, including the foreign outfits evading, or delaying payments to the aviation authorities? Is this also the practice in their home
countries? There are some of the questions
being asked.

PROSPECTS
While the regulators strive to devise
means of recovering the debts and in-

crease their revenue profile, operators are
complaining of rising operational cost and
seeming unprofitability as part of the reasons for not paying their bills.
To address the challenge, government
agencies adopted some strategies. They include the introduction of credit policy by
the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria
(FAAN), and the new Pay As You Go regime introduced by the Nigeria Airspace
Management Agency ( NAMA). It was also
in a bid to reduce this debt profile that the
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA),
earlier in the year entered into a non-disclosure agreement with two commercial
banks to collect, on its behalf from airlines,
its statutory five per cent ticket sales charge,
which many domestic airlines fail to remit,
resulting in debt overhang running to billions of naira.
Last month, the House of Representatives
Committee on Aviation embarked on a
working tour of aviation facilities in Lagos
as part of its oversight functions to ascertain the state of operational facilities as well
as probe into the accounts of the agencies,
namely FAAN, NCAA and NAMA.
None of these measures has made any appreciable impact, as the debt profile is not
abating, raising concerns that wielding the
big stick against the debtor airlines may be
the best way to address the issue.

The Managing Director of FAAN, George
Uriesi, said the authority could meet its
statutory obligation, if those who utilise
its facilities pay for it, affirming that a scenario, where FAAN , is owed about N22.991
billion as at September 2011, by active clients, there is a limit to which anybody could
stretch the capability of the authority.
How and why the affected organisations
will owe FAAN such huge debts, according
to Ureisi appears like a calculated attempt
to starve the authority of funds, such that it
will be enable to attain its potentials.

DEBT PROFILE
Available statistics, showed that between
2007 and 2011, the revenue of FAAN has
been oscillating around N1.1billion and
N1.3 billion. However, in 2010, it rose to
between N1.6 billion and N2.3 billion .Statistics released by FAAN, revealed that international airlines owed it about
N8.842billion, while domestic carriers indebtedness stood at about N3.233 billion.
In addition, debts owed by domestic carriers for regional flight operations, averaged N2.737 billion, bringing the sub- total
to about N14.813 billion. Besides, concessionaires owed about N5.617 billion and
government agencies and others, N2.561
billion

Investigations also revealed that the concept of airport concession has further
plunged FAAN into financial quagmire,
as a concession holder, managing the car
park at the international wing of the
Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, was indebted to the tune
of over N800 million, before the authority took over the facility, for which it now
collects N149. 810, monthly, as against the
N4.0 million charge against the concessionaire, previously.
Uriesi argued that it would be a herculean
task for an organisation burdened by such
huge debt profile to be able to tackle the
challenges of fixing obsolete terminals and
decaying infrastructure, which require billions of naira to address, stressing, â&#x20AC;&#x153; if
aviation agencies must deliver, the airlines and others who are indebted to
FAAN, must be able to pay up, otherwise
the authority will find it difficult to deliver.
Uriesi, queried how the agencies can live
up to expectation in the face of poor cash
flow, impeding their ability to function
and maintain the airports, in addition to
meeting recurrent obligations. He said it
would be an uphill task with the mountâ&#x20AC;˘ Continued on page 13

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

13

ISSUES

Burdened by
huge debts
• Continued from page 12

ing debts and creditor balances running
into N40.4 billion.
But, the airline operators on their side are
raising concerns why FAAN cannot tackle
airport facilities and services including
check- in areas, arrival concourse, air conditioning system, toilets, trolleys, waiting
areas, directional signage, which are either
unserviceable, unreliable, unavailable or
user - unfriendly.
Members of the House of Representatives
Committee on Aviation also challenged
the management of the Federal Airports
Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN), to give details of the terms of its concession agreements, even as the committee urged the
authority to explain the rationale for its
failure to meet its N35 billion revenue target for the year, having chalked in only N20
billion as at the end of the third quarter of
the year.
Speaking while receiving presentations
for its financial transactions for the year
from FAAN management, the Chairman of
the House of Representatives Committee
on Aviation, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, sought
from the authority why it should not be
tagged a failed organisation having failed
to meet its revenue taget..
She explained that despite the huge budgetary allocation to FAAN, it could not
boast of any airport in the country that has
the trappings of a modern facility , affirming that FAAN lacks basic airport commercial infrastructure, thereby inhibiting it
from meeting its obligations.
She wondered why the authority appears unable to recover its huge debts,
saying it is inconceivable that FAAN
could not turn the obvious commercial
advantages of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport to a money spinner,
instead of relying on aeronautical sources
for its revenue.
She expressed reservations over the lopsided expenditure profile of FAAN, which
is weighed higher on overhead costs, running into 60 per cent as opposed to capital
projects which pegs around 40 per cent.
The committee chairman also sought to
know, why FAAN will pay over N1.2 billion to two of its concessionaires, as opposed to the target N890 million earmarked
for such payment.
She said : “How come the concessionaires
are owing FAAN and could not pay ? It is
clear that FAAN lacks live cycle. It then follows that FAAN may have failed as an
organisation. This is because of the way and
manner the organisation runs, the irregularities that surrounds its concession agreements. It also appears there is no plan to
make Nigerian airports look like what they
should look like. Could it be privatised,
considering the huge investment of capital in the airports , which gives the feeling
that budgeting in FAAN is just like a ritual.”
She however cautioned the managing director of FAAN, Mr George Uriesi to take
responsibility and make the airport system
work, as the committee will no longer accept diplomatic answers on key questions
that border on the processes and procedure
for effective airport administration.
She said : “ You have to shun directives
from above and work according to the law,
because if anything happens, you will be
held liable. FAAN has potentials to make
as a huge money spinner for government,
but it is sad to note that FAAN is on the
intensive care unit, which is about to die,
but this committee will rescue it from dying.”
Worst still, is wide spread ignorance of
modern airport management practices and
processes.”
Commenting on the issue, an aviation expert, Mr Chris Aligbe, who is chief executive office of Belujane Konsult, explained
that if the airport system must work well,
government must take further steps to embrace full concessioning of major airports
including the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, even as he said
Lagos deserves at least a major international and domestic terminal, which is re-

quired to cope with the expected traffic.
He said: “ We need a legal policy framework that could cater for the development
of airports, airlines and ground handling
companies, which will provide a road map
for the development of the aviation industry. At the moment there is no such specific
policy in the aviation industry which we
help the industry have good airports and
airlines.
How do you expect FAAN to manage the
22 airports, and yet remain profitable. It is
for this reason that we advocate that all
Nigerian airports should be concessioned.
That is the only option to achieve global
standards for airports, which will bring
about private sector funding. It may be difficult to canvass the concession option in
the aviation industry for now, because of
the old experience of concession.
Government then needs to put in place a
legal and legislative framework to achieve
airport concessions.”
Aligbe called for engagement of all operators either they are involved in domestic , regional and intercontinental flights to
agree with the terms of operations concerning the payment of navigational charges,
as is the practice abroad.
He reasoned that it will not serve the industry any good if airlines fail to pay their
bills, such that some of the funds will invested to fix operational infrastructure .
Also speaking, the managing director of
the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency
( NAMA), Nnamdi Udoh, reasoned that the
agencies will only function better if airlines
both domestic and foreign pay their bills, a
development he said gave rise to the pay as
you go regime introduced by the agency.
Udoh also affirmed that since NAMA introduced the new payment regime, it has
witnessed improvement in revenue, as
even as the introduction of sanctions to
debtor airlines will help to shape the affairs of the sector.
He stated that government was concerned
about the huge debt noting that NAMA
would be able to provide quality service if
the airlines cleared the debts.

•Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella
Oduah-ogiemwinyi,

It was gathered that Arik Air owes NAMA
N1, 107,674,989.30 and NCAA, N2,
502,420.188.11. Aero Contractors is the second largest debtor. It owes NCAA N737,
077,188.30 and NAMA, N731, 334,432.26
IRS Airlines’ indebtedness to the
parastatals stands at NCAA, N672,
446,155.22 and NAMA, N343, 624,942.45.
While Dana Air owes a total of N643,
354,939.15 to both the agencies, Air Nigeria
owes a total of N243, 492,235.39 with debt
to NCAA standing at N15, 125,450.65 and
NAMA, N228, 366, 784. 74.
Chanchangi which operates skeletally
owes NCAA N386, 767, 375.99 and NAMA
N862, 635,565.90. Bellview which stopped
flying in 2009 and is making a comeback
with new a new airline, First Nation Airways also owes NCAA, N87, 426, 947.32 and
NAMA, 317, 647,309.62.
However, the General Manager, Public

Affairs of NAMA, Supo Atobatele, who confirmed the figures, said some airlines had
started paying but he did not disclose how
much had been collected so far.
Also speaking on the issue, an expert who
does not want his name in print said : “Aviation in Nigeria is generally very enthusiastic but I think the government is not giving
the necessary support needed in terms of
importation of aircraft. You see when an
airline wants to start operation the owner
has to go and source for aeroplanes...you
know how our banks behave. The airlines
are suffering from a lot of things; even the
cost of processing licence is high. It is not
the certificate itself that does aviation; we
got our certification, documentation and
paper work from the civil aviation in Ghana
with less than $10,000.
“But in Nigeria if you want to register
an airline today, guess how much...you
will pay millions just to register and get
the certificate. Just to register and get the
certificate they say you must capitalise to
millions of naira. Infrastructure is a serious problem at the airports. Government
should involve the private sector in the
provision of facilities at the airports. Airlines are threatened by exorbitant charges.
Terminal navigational charges have been
introduced and airlines are made to pay
up front. I don’t know American domestic
airlines that pay taxes to the government
that are still required to pay terminal
charges.
“Even if they do, I think Nigeria, as a developing economy, should waive such. That
is why I insist that we need to look at those
who advise the government to see whether
they are telling government the truth or
they are using their imagination. I don’t
see why the government should collect
navigational and terminal charges besides
the five per cent passenger service charge
that the domestic airlines pay. Government
should look at the issue of terminal charges
because the future of Nigerian aviation is
great.”
Also speaking on the challenges African
airlines grapple with, the Regional Vice
President Africa of the International Air
Transport Association (IATA), Mr. Mike
Higgins berated the continent over the very
high navigational charges and the proliferation of aviation development fees.
He said air transport infrastructure in Africa is much in need of improvement as
development has been slow due to various
reasons.
Demuren, also affirmed that aviation business is not a gold mine.He said the rate of
return on investment in aviation was about
two to three per cent for the airlines or even
manufacturers.
Stating that marketers have raised price
of their product over time while the carriers have only marginally increased air
fares, Demuren added: “We cannot operate
that way.The price of aviation fuel in Nigeria is ridiculous; too high. We need to knock
this down. We are working on it and I believe we will be able to do this. We can’t
continue this way.”
He expressed gratitude to God that the
Federal Government was doing a lot to refine crude in Nigeria, stressing that the country had been doing this before.
“There are a lot of loopholes that we are
trying to close right now. We are talking
with the government. The third meeting we
have with the fuel marketers will be major
because everybody will be present.
“Aviation business is not a gold mine. A
lot of people who come to this industry feel
it is a gold mine. The rate of return on investment in aviation is about two to three
per cent for the airlines or even manufacturers.
“Most of the cash flow you see belongs to
fuel marketers, maintenance organisation,
training facility and they have to pay lease
rental, only little belongs to the airlines”,
he added.
If the aviation industry will move forward, government has to strengthen the
capacity of the agencies to sanction debtor
carriers and many who owe huge sums,
which could be used to develop the sector.
The option of moratorium, it has been
observed has not helped the system, as
airlines are only settling their current
bills without recourse to offsetting the
huge debts they have accumulated over
time.
Government must as a matter of urgency
arrest the arbitrariness where foreign carriers pay for navigation charges in other
countries , only to renege when they operate into Nigeria.

14

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

19

EDITORIAL/OPINION
EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

COMMENT

Mr. Putin seeks
a scapegoat

Ray of hope
•Regulation to make states distribute electricity will improve power supply

I

TS previous energy policy failures
notwithstanding, current efforts of the
Federal Government at finding a solution to the challenges in the sector, if
sustained, suggest that the country’s energy crisis may abate soon. The 36 state
governments will, hopefully, by next
month get the statutory right to generate
and distribute electricity from and within
their domain. This indication was given
by the Chairman, Nigeria Electricity
Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam
Amadi, at a workshop on the review of
the ‘Independent Electricity Distribution
Network’ draft regulation in Abuja, the
federal capital.
Although, we commend the Federal
Government for this achievement, it is
rather sad that it took the country this long
to get to this point in the sector. For,
whereas Nigeria professes federalism as
her mode of governance, its public administration praxis is everything but federal. All these years, the Federal Govern-

‘While we are confident that the
proposed deal, if well implemented, would lead to improved
power supply, we are also not unmindful of the inadequacies in the
government bureaucracies. This is
certainly not the time that men
and officers of the Nigerian Customs Service will refuse to clear,
on schedule, items imported by
the states or their agents, for power
generation and or distribution’

ment had been behaving as if electricity
could be decreed into existence when all
that is needed to free Nigeria from the
self-imposed shackles of energy crisis
and its attendant darkness, is an enabling
law that federalises the generation and
distribution of power.
It is obvious now that hitherto, energy
policies in the country were shaped in
the image of bad politics of the political
gladiators and the parochial interests of
a few, all of which are adversative to
meaningful development.
What had happened in both Kwara
State (under Bukola Saraki), and the incumbent Governor Rotimi Amaechi in
Rivers State, wherein an arrangement
was made to side-step the counter-productive National Grid scheme, so as to
make internally generated power available to Nigerians in their respective states
is commendable. This proposed initiative should encourage the leadership in
other states to take the bull by the horns
with regard to energy generation and distribution within their domain.
Lagos State has a particularly impressive story. It was the first to begin the
idea of Independent Power Producer
(IPP) scheme in the country. To consolidate on this, the state government conducted an energy audit preparatory to
other anticipated IPPs in the state, as
soon as the power minister, Prof Barth
Nnaji and Amadi made the latest pronouncement on the proposed change in
energy policy.
But we shudder that Nnaji could still
be advocating the idea of National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) after five

decades of operating the redundant National Grid power scheme, which is
anachronistic to the socio-economic realities of today.
The Federal Government must not
bungle this opportunity to gain back a
measure of political goodwill and public
confidence which previous policy somersaults and failures to deliver on schedule had robbed it of. The current figure
of 4,000 megawatts being paraded by the
power minister as the current achievement seems fictitious, as it has not translated to improved supply of electricity to
many Nigerians, and this has to be addressed. While we are confident that the
proposed deal, if well implemented,
would lead to improved power supply,
we are also not unmindful of the inadequacies in the government bureaucracies. This is certainly not the time that
men and officers of the Nigerian Customs Service will refuse to clear, on schedule, items imported by the states or their
agents, for power generation and or distribution.
It is trite to begin to enumerate the opportunities and advantages of sustained
stable supply of electricity in the country.
Suffice it to say that most developmentcentred programmes of both the states
and the Federal Government rest on
availability of a steady supply of power.
When this is assured, investors will be
motivated to do business in the energy
sector. Jobs for different levels of skills
will be provided. Based on the same principle of healthy federalism, states can
now begin to prospect other idling away
resources to improve their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Bonds matter
•Delta State govt should use the proceeds wisely

S

EPTEMBER 29, the Delta State government concluded its N50 billion
bond issue – said to be a first tranche
out of the N100 billion bond issuance
programme –to finance infrastructural
projects. The issue, which carries a fixed
interest rate of 14 percent with a tenor of
seven years and a maturity date of September 29, 2018, which the government
claims are tied irrevocably to the execution of infrastructural projects in various
parts of the state has naturally attracted
more than a passing interest.
Not a few critics of the government have
said that a state like Delta with so much
revenue accruing from the federation account has no business approaching the
capital market at this time, not to talk of
accumulating debts for the future. There
are also concerns raised about possible
abuses and mismanagement of bond proceeds.
Clearly, these concerns are legitimate.
Rather than dismiss them as being misplaced, we are inclined to see the furore
over the bond issue as healthy, perhaps
a necessary part of the democratic process, stemming from the same basic concerns with issues of value-for-money and
accountability, two vexing issues in our
public finance system.
The question is why the bonds, and
why at this time? After all, the state is a
leading oil producer, hence a leading
beneficiary of the current good fortunes
in oil prices. One way to look at the matter is to concede to the state government

its prerogatives as to what constitutes its
priorities. The other is to acknowledge
the hunger, if not the thirst for accelerated development. The issue is not to
deny the imperatives but to see how the
capital issue can be pressed into service
to deliver the public good.
Truth is – no state, not even the Federal
Government has enough for its developmental needs. In this, Delta State has
merely joined in the trail blazed by
Lagos, and which has since been embraced by Kwara, Rivers, among several
other states that have exploited the option of the bond market as bridge-head
to finance critical projects.
Apart from being cheaper than bank
loans (indeed they represent the cheapest possible sources of funds), they have
longer gestation periods. Bonds enjoy the
additional attraction of availing its issuer
the benefit of warehoused funds to draw
upon quickly as against the normal flow
of revenue from the federation account
which sometimes comes in trickles and
which, more often than not does not reflect the states’ work plans or their statements of priorities.
At stake of course is the use to which
the proceeds of the bond are to be deployed. The rights of the citizens to have
full details of costs, project duration and
completion dates seem to us an inescapable part of the process of its completion.
Apart from forming the basis on which
the people can draw judgement on

whether or not the state government
stayed the course, we consider it elementary to the due process requirement.
We expect that the state government
would not only put up an effective framework for project monitoring and evaluation, it should open up the entire process
to public scrutiny. The strictures of the
bond issuance process, although tedious,
cannot vitiate the need for a proper
mechanism for monitoring the utilisation
of the proceeds, particularly in an environment where issues of budgetary discipline have remained at a most rudimentary level.
Having said that, the ultimate test of the
efficacy of the bond instrument as indeed, the intentions of government is
when values are delivered timely, and in
qualitative terms.

‘At stake of course is the use to which
the proceeds of the bond are to be
deployed. The rights of the citizens
to have full details of costs, project
duration and completion dates seem
to us an inescapable part of the process of its completion. Apart from
forming the basis on which the
people can draw judgement on
whether or not the state government
stayed the course, we consider it elementary to the due process requirement’

T

WENTY years after the fall of
communism, Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin of Russia seems
determined to resurrect the Soviet
playbook. His United Russia Party tried
to steal a parliamentary election on
Sunday, and, when the results still
delivered a stinging rebuke, he claimed
the United States was whipping up
protests and demonstrations.
Mr. Putin could have acknowledged
voters’ dissatisfaction — his party’s
parliamentary majority plummeted from
315 to 238 seats — and tried to address it,
like democratic leaders might do.
Instead, on Thursday, he accused
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton of instigating street protests. He
warned that Russia must protect against
“interference” by foreign governments
and hinted darkly at reprisals against
demonstrators.
The charges are bizarre. After
international observers reported
widespread fraud by Putin supporters,
Mrs. Clinton expressed “serious
concerns” on Monday and Tuesday that
the vote was neither free nor fair. It was
ludicrous for Mr. Putin to claim that that
was a “signal” that brought Russians to
the streets three days running despite a
heavy police presence and more than
1,000 detentions. The protesters were
clear what motivated them: They were
outraged by the fraud and tired of the
status quo and Mr. Putin.
It’s true that Golos, Russia’s only
independent electoral monitoring group,
receives grants from the United States
and Europe. But, as a member of the
Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, Russia agreed
that foreign and domestic election
observers enhance the electoral process.
The Soviet Union also signed a series of
agreements on human rights that it
ignored.
Mrs. Clinton and the White House did
the right thing on Thursday by repeating
their criticisms of the vote. She also
expressed support for the “rights and
aspirations” of the Russian people. They
will need to keep speaking out;
government opponents plan another
protest for Saturday.
– New York Times
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IR: Naturally one would have
waited for government’s
white paper on OOU
visitation
panel
before
commenting on the crises that have
engulfed the institution since 2009
but the rumours making rounds
that the report is being doctored
compelled this article. The
continued
silence
of
the
government on the report
heightened the fears that Governor
Ibikunle Amosun may have bowed
to pressure to sustain some
illegalities orchestrated by OOU’s
governing council as contained in
the report some which have been
reported by a national newspaper.
The government will fare better if
OOU’s crises did not spill into 2012.
Governor
Amosun
has
repeatedly stated both at home and
abroad that he will issue a white
paper as soon as the panel submits
its report. The zeal with which the
panel was set up has dissipated and

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OOU’s harvest of crises
this portends danger for early
resuscitation of OOU which looks
like being on borrowed energy.
Even within government itself,
there is a level of confusion about
what are the proposals that might
be part of an actual commitment
of the state to a more functional
and people oriented OOU. The
continued withdrawal of funds
from the university might have
held the government back from
rescuing the institution from a
cabal who are desirous of ruining
it beyond repairs. However, it
must be told clear and loud that

the longer the problems remain
unsolved the worse the situation
becomes due to lack of focus and
clear administrative policy by the
present management. The present
principal officers are not the best
OOU could be proud of. Their
continued stay in offices would
spell irredeemable doom for OOU.
The hijacking of a state institution
such as OOU, a legacy of vision by
Chief Awolowo that traditionally
brings happiness and joy to the staff
and students by a few individuals
for selfish ambitions should be
viewed as criminal, unacceptable

and condemnable.
There is no doubt that OOU is in
crisis as most citizens of the state
now know better. The government
might think the crisis is normal and
will be resolved but the crisis is
intellectual and affecting the poor
parents and helpless students
whose future are tied to a more
efficient and productive university.
With the future of OOU now
seemingly
for
grabs,
the
government must make it
explicitly clear that it will not agree
to any solution that doesn’t include

The sour logic of sex perverts

S

IR: Like the legendary Phoenix that always emerges
from its very ashes whenever it is thought to have been destroyed, Nigerians, for the umpteenth time, were again treated to
a grisly spectacle of warped debate
by advocates of homosexual practice recently at the floor of the National Assembly. In what may sum
up as the kernel of their argument,
as espoused by a self-acclaimed
spokesperson of the amorphous
association called “Nigerian Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, Transsexuals
and Intersex living in Diaspora”,
they claim that a number of talented
Nigerian homosexuals are living
outside the country and helping to
develop their host countries but are
afraid to come and live in their
own motherland, Nigeria, for fear
of being victimized. They capped
up their grouse with the all-pervasive justificatory catch phrase, “unfair treatment”
And thus, proceeding from the
standpoint of the above jeremiad,
the proponents of homosexual freedom sought to prove to the rest of
us how deep we have fallen into
the cesspit of ignorance and consequently, how far backward we are
from the fast moving bandwagon
of modernity, in our continued in-

sistence on repugnancy to morality and religion as bases for opposition to homosexual practice.
While it is conceded that homosexual practice has existed for ages
in the history of mankind, given
the biblical expression of divine
malediction against it, at no time
since the emergence of the malefaction called sex perversion, has
its proponents been as bold as they
are now in their collective quest
for societal recognition and imprimatur. In their bid to scientifically
validate the points as to why the
strange malefaction must be allowed to co-exist with the heterosexual practice, the homosexuals
usually resort seek to take refuge
either in the concept of personal
liberty as enshrined in Fundamental Human Rights or in what the
term natural orientation.
To start with, what is fundamental right? There is a universal consensus that fundamental rights are
inalienable entitlements divinely
bestowed on mankind by reason
only of his being part of human
species. It presupposes that the
rights guaranteed as fundamental
rights are neither bestowed by the
law nor can be taken away by the
law.
Flowing from the above, can it

validly be argued that the divine
creator, who, in the beginning, created man and woman and bestowed on them their respective
gender capabilities, would again
turn around to create a man and
bestow on him female sexual orientation, except there is a distortion
of the original plan by another?It is
this distortion, I make bold to say,
that is the missing link in all the
arguments about homosexual practice. That a sexually distorted personality seeks to orient himself toward the opposite sex cannot be at-

tributed to the creator as all that God
created in the beginning was perfect. Gay, lesbianism or whatever,
cannot be justified in any circumstance, anymore than the victims of
nymphomania who also lay claim
to belonging to that cloistered and
nebulous constituency called “natural orientation”. The fact is the sex
pervert are in dire need of help, but
will they admit it?
• Chris Edache Agbiti, Esq.
Maitama, Abuja

a comprehensive stakeholders’
forum that will proffer endurable
solution to the lingering problems
of the university. The searchlight
should be beamed on the former
administrators of the University
starting from the third Vice
Chancellor who planted the seeds
of discord that have perpetually
nurtured by different groups. It
will be recalled that the 1996 ASUU
strike during which Prof O.Y
Oyeneye was the Vice Chancellor
started these harvest of crises. That
period was when bickering,
nepotism and cronyism became
official language at OOU. For a
productive OOU to rebound, the
past administrators must be
brought to a round table for
dialogue to appeal to their foot
soldiers who always poise for a
‘return match ‘at slightest
misunderstanding. The likes of
Professors Sodipo Olubi, Titus
Bamkole, Lai Ogunkoya and
Afolabi Soyode, if still alive,
should be incorporated to
champion a clarion call and a road
map for a new OOU.
The state and the people have a
lot to lose if the university
degenerated beyond its present
condition. Ogun State sets the pace
in education and other sectors and
cannot afford to take the back
bench in running its universities
in accordance with what is
universally obtainable. Politics
should not override the interest of
the people. OOU deserves the best!
•Adedeji Solanke (P.hD)
Ontario, Canada
adedejisolanke@yahoo.com

Kudos to FCT Minister on sanitation

S

IR: The Federal Capital Territory and its aesthetics in recent times have taken a new
and better look. This is based on
the vision and determination of the
FCT Minister, Senator Bala
Abdulkadir Mohammed of positioning the Territory as one of the
20 cleanest cities in the world by
the year 2020. This is also in line
with the transformational agenda
of President Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan.
The FCT Minister too an assertive step by appointing Mr. Isa
Shu’aibu to head the Abuja Environment Protection Board as pivot

for the implementation of the new
strategy for ridding the FCT of dirt
and the pestilence it poses.
The new strategy seems to be
paying dividends, as in a short period of time, the FCT is becoming
free of environmental degradation
and other social pestilence including but not limited to street hawking along the roads and other noncommercial areas of the FCT, reckless parking of vehicles on the roads
that have hampered vehicular
movements.
Already the enforcement of strict
penalties on residents that contravene the AEPB laws is underway,

with an order to residents to make
certain that weeds and bushes are
not allowed to grow around their
houses or plots.
The residents of the FCT must
gear up to the obligation of certifying that the city becomes cleaner;
and we must also assist Senator
Bala’s administration in keeping
our capital city clean.
The FCT Minister has reiterated
that with regards to the strict adherence to environmental laws
there will be no sacred cows.
• Mohammed Awwalu Ibro,
Adisa Estate
Abuja.

21

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

EDITORIAL/OPINION

Bayelsa: let PDP live up to its name

T

HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been in power
in Nigeria for more than 12 years. By now, the inherited military dictatorial mentality ought to have
given way to the assimilation of democratic principles. But
internal democracy, principles and consistency have become
scarce in the party, causing apprehension in the hitherto assumed secured political firmament.
Name is meant to be a reflection of an image. Democracy
is not intended to be just an appellation for the sake of it, but
a guiding principle in governance that empowers the people.
Since the commonplace definition of democracy is government of the people by the people and for the people, then the
recurring tag (people) must be at the centre of its reality.
And this was what the slogan of ‘power to the people’ by a
political party called the PDP must have been fashioned to
manifest.
The beauty of genuine democracy is not its being built on
the people alone, but more when the people have the liberty
to actualise the choice of their conscience. It would not matter if the choice should turn sour, an opportunity would have
been emplaced to remedy the error of choice. This right of
choice might have been what brought about the saying that
people deserve any government they have – good or bad.
The irony of our new dispensation democracy is that those
voted to power see themselves as wiser than those who gave
them the mandate. The trend has been that whenever election campaign comes, the people will be elevated with the
chant of their right to vote. The aroma of office-seekers’
love for the people would fill the air. But as soon as the
people are cajoled to release their votes, the humility and
modesty of politicians disappears for pride and arrogance
towards the elevation of dominating self-interest. The right
of the people to good things of life would not only be relegated, but in most instances it would be turned around as
favour to be sought.
As concluded by Major General Muhammadu Buhari, not
only has PDP underdeveloped Nigeria and caused primordial sentiments to divide the citizens, its credibility as a willing democratic nation remains at the ebb.
As was the case under the semi-military Olusegun Obasanjo
administration, democracy in the nation still remains on trial.
Under Obasanjo was the era of selective obedience to court
orders. Even though an elected president, Obasanjo ruled
the military way: no respect for justice and the right of the
people to determine their destiny. Elections were blatantly
manipulated; governors that failed to do the personal will

I

T may seem somewhat churlish or ill-tempered to raise
doubts about the international degree - by which I mean
university degrees obtained outside the country, in particular from Europe and United States – at a time when the
decay and virtual free fall of our universities have forced
Nigerian elites who can afford it to seek resort in training
their sons and daughters outside of Nigeria. Let us bear in
mind too that this an age of globalization in which an emergent cosmopolitan culture is fast erasing or at least co-opting
provincial cultures and identities. There is the point too that
an international degree offers a fast-track through which its
privileged holder can access the global job market. What more,
training that is assisted by cutting edge technologies and state
of the art academic infrastructure is likely to place the trainee
at a great advantage in terms of fitting-in into the global
technocracy.
I grant all of these, but confess that my exposure to some of
the academic output in some overseas institutions in the shape
of for example, post graduate dissertations in the Social Sciences have revived my doubts about the worth and value of
these highly marketed and admittedly prestigious international degrees. Let me clarify that my apprehensions pertain
more to the Arts and Social Sciences than to the ‘core’ scientific disciplines where the state of technology and laboratories for example may sway the debate in favour of those who
think there is no point making a comparison between degrees acquired abroad and those obtained in Nigeria.
To put the issue in better perspective, let us recall the widely
quoted remark of Trevor Roper, at the time Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford, England, who when
confronted with a demand by African students to be taught
African history which at the time did not exist in the university curriculum retorted “There is nothing like African history. The history of Africa is the history of White peoples in
Africa. Beyond that, all that exist are the barbarous gyrations
of savage peoples in remote but picturesque corners of the
globe”. To be sure, these remarks were made in the 1960s and
were protested by the African students to whom they were
made by the eminent professor, but if you assume that perspectives which downplay, mythologise or scoff-at African
culture and civilisation no longer exist in the hallowed centers of learning around the world, then you are mistaken.
It was not so long ago for example that Tod Moss in an
article which appeared in a journal published by Cambridge
University Press argued that liberal democracy cannot succeed in Africa because the continent lacks a history that supports such a system of government. In short, racist and denigrating scholarship is very much alive and well in the West.
The other day, I screamed very hard at a young Nigerian who
studied in the United States and took pains to extol in a newspaper article, American heroes while writing-off disdainfully
Nigerian nationalists, most of whom may have been unknown

of the president were yanked off their seats contrary to the
civilised rule of law. Whatever the president desired was
forced on the people. Therefore, that his eight-year rule thereafter fizzled away without leaving much significant impact
on the populace was no surprise. That was also the story of
the wasteful years of the military in power. Today, an
Obasanjo who was privileged to be at the helm of the nation’s
affairs for no fewer than cumulative 11 years cannot be confident of running for a ward election in his Ogun State without being disgraced at the poll.
It is a pity that President Jonathan seems to be desperately
willing to tow that failed line of his political grandfather.
Towing a line of democratic dysfunctionality might just have
meant a resignation to end the same way like a failed predecessor.
Charity, it is said, begins from home. Likewise, dishonour
too takes its root at home. The ongoing political impasse in
Bayelsa State, the president’s home state cannot be said to be
good for the health of our sagging democracy. Incumbent
Governor Timipre Sylva wants a second term, but because
the President has some personal scores to settle with him, he
is making all efforts to deny the people of their legitimate
and constitutional right to place judgement on his eligibility. It is adverse that a president who got to office by grace is
the same working to deny another person of grace.
And unfortunately, the political party placed to adjudicate
with fairness is taking side.
Sylva might have been
a disappointment to the PDP in any way, but the party should
be responsible for his performance for throwing him up as
their flag bearer in the first place. If the party now feels it
needs a performance-oriented candidate to flag its banner, it
should have been done without a trace of Aso Villa and without infringing on the rights of Governor Sylva.
Justice is the panacea for peace, progress and socio-economic development. A government cannot go far if it perpetrates injustice, especially when court order are truncated
and defied to suit personal purposes. The manner the socalled primaries in Yenegoa were held clearly showed it was
all in a bid to oust Sylva. The town was militarised so as to
intimidate; whereas the decent approach would have been to
give the party members the freedom to vote Sylva out if that
was their desire. If not, let the people go for whosoever they
want, even among the president’s several men that stepped
forward as camouflages.
The hope of the people of Bayelsa now is in the judiciary, if
only it would be allowed to perform in the way the new
Chief Justice of the Federation has publicly enunciated. In
pushing Sylva’s case, Femi Falana has even introduced an
interesting dimension. His argument is that Sylva’s victory
at the PDP governorship primaries held in January is still
valid. He said although the election scheduled for April was
later postponed on the basis of a court ruling, Sylva remains
the party’s candidate as long as he has not withdrawn his
interest.

Thoughts on
foreign degrees
By Ayo Olukotun
to her. As I have repeatedly argued in several write-ups, higher
educational institutions do not exist in a cultural or ideological vacuum, but serve as the great carriers and conveyor belts
of the cultures and civilisations in which they reside. Global
powers may of course take scholarly interest in other parts of
the world, but this interest is peripheral to their main task of
transmitting to successive generations the pillars and building blocks of their own civilisations. Necessarily therefore,
one is not surprised to find out that many so-called experts on
Nigeria or indeed Africa in the western world have superficial acquaintance with the continent while scholarship on Africa or African studies dwells precariously in the back waters
of these institutions.
Here we encounter the paradox that while Nigeria has become a very attractive market for overseas institutions, there
is little corresponding attempt by these institutions to widen
their curriculum and cultural purview to take account of the
ranks of Nigerian youths swelling their populations. We owe
the revelation to the Central Bank Governor, Mallam Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi that 71, 000 Nigerian students pay as much as
N150b as school fees in Ghana, an amount that is more than
the N121b which the Federal Government budgets annually
for universities. We do not have corresponding figures for the
United Kingdom and the United States, but they are likely if
computed, to be more astonishing than what Sanusi has revealed. Apart from the cultural underside of the matter discussed earlier, there may be emerging the phenomenon which
can be described as degrees for export which implies that to
an extent, some overseas universities may for several imaginable reasons carve-out well packaged degrees to satisfy the
rising tide of privileged Nigerian youths knocking at their
gates for ‘meal tickets’. This remark is not intended as denigration either of the many Nigerians who have studied productively abroad or of the many institutions which throw
their doors wide open to the swelling mass of Nigerian youths;
as indicated previously however, the intellectual gaps and
idiosyncrasies of many of these institutions with respect to
other parts of the globe may explain a situation in which adequate attention is not paid to for example to post graduate
students working on Nigerian or African topics.
Let me illustrate this perhaps surprising assertion with reference to one doctoral dissertation done by a Nigerian resi-

According to Falana, the provision of section 33 of the
Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) are now very clear that
once a political party has submitted the name of a candidate” to INEC for a particular elective office, “the political
party shall not be allowed to change or substitute the name
of that candidate” pursuant to Section 32 of the Act. For him
therefore, the conduct of a fresh PDP governorship primary
in Bayelsa State was unnecessary. This position has now
pushed the task to the court.
To the Ethnic Minority and Indigenous Rights Organisation
of Africa (EMIROAF) the crisis over who flies the governorship flag in Bayelsa State is a time bomb. In a release by the
organisation, “It is difficult to understand what has happened between January 2011, and now to warrant the rejection of the same Timipre Sylva by the PDP central working
committee.” As earlier said, the party is playing the
president’s game. And that is where the error lies. Whatever
gives PDP the assumption that it has already won the governorship election, no matter who is fielded is a pride that can
be subdued by the people?
If truly it believes that power belongs to the people, it
should allow the same people to exercise their right of determining their political fortune.
Credibility is like virginity. Once it is lost, it can never be
recovered.
Let PDP work towards retaining the credibility of its name
as a democratic party that believes in the rule of law. Let it
guide the President to imbibe the ultimate reality that democracy by selection will never work in favour of the people.
Imposition of candidate on the people will not yield the
result of performance desired by the people. The profitable
concept is when the people are allowed to decide who becomes their accountable leader.

‘Let PDP work towards retaining the credibility of its name as
a democratic party that believes
in the rule of law. Let it guide
the President to imbibe the ultimate reality that democracy by
selection will never work in
favour of the people. Imposition
of candidate on the people will
not yield the result of performance desired by the people’
dent in the United States and which I spent some time reading on the internet because the author had cited some of my
published work in the area of political communication. Although, it is inappropriate to extensively review such a scholarly work in a forum like this, I am constrained to point out
in the context of earlier remarks that the study, which is in
some respects magnificent, is diminished by factual errors
perhaps occasioned partly by a long prolonged absence from
Nigeria, and partly because the university from where the
student graduated may have no competent supervisor who
could have weeded out these infelicities and howlers. The
capacity to insert one’s area of study in the contemporary
literature is one of the beauties of overseas training given the
existence of up to date libraries, digital archives, and public
cultures which privilege intellectual work, even for its own
sake. It is another matter however for the trainees to engage
on a consistent basis empirical topics deriving from their
cultural roots about which there may not necessarily exist
detailed knowledge in the countries in which they are studying. Another way of putting this point is to ask the question:
is a post-graduate study on Yoruba culture better undertaken
at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife or at the University of Manchester in England? To answer this question, would
in my opinion require that Nigerian universities continuously upgrade their academic support services to render them
topical, and as the saying goes, world-class while universities abroad ought to increasingly collaborate with Nigerian
universities, perhaps through insistence on part-Nigerian
supervision for students working on Nigerian topics beyond
the ritual demand for field work which in some cases are
dispensed with.
This brings us to the well-known expression ‘the global in
the local and the local in the global’; this suggests that Nigerian universities, even in their current attenuated state, may
still be the best location to undertake certain kinds of research, or at a minimum where the increasing deficiencies of
overseas study can be remedied. Finally, the point must be
made all over that a nation that downgrades its educational
institutions and remains indifferent to the price tags of educating its youths outside its borders is simply mortgaging its
own future, as well as deforming the present rather than transforming it.
• Olukotun is Professor of Political Science at Lead City
University, Ibadan.

‘But this interest is peripheral to their
main task of transmitting to successive
generations the pillars and building
blocks of their own civilisations’

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

22

EDITORIAL/OPINION

W

HEN former Head of State Gen.
Yakubu Gowon speaks, we are
wont to take him very seriously.
This is especially so when the issue in focus
has to do with the unity and progress of this
country. Gowon it was who shouldered the
burden of waging a 30-month civil war to
unite the country so that the task of nation
building can progress.
Thus, he is in a better stead to appreciate
the sentiments that gave rise to that war, the
sufferings, deprivations and the overall toll
the war had on this nation. In the same vein,
he should be the first person to suffer the
pains of seeing all the efforts to keep Nigeria
one come to naught.
He must have been moved by these sentiments when he bared his mind recently at an
international conference on Islam, peacebuilding and political engagement organized
by the Bayero University, Kano in collaboration with the British Council.
Such frustrations must have been at play
when he told his audience that the creation
of political domains which they pursued during his tenure as Head of State for the purpose of national unity when “we created the
states, had unfortunately been bastardized as
a means of keeping us apart rather than bringing us together as a nation”.
While calling for re-dedication and the pursuit of national unity, Gowon lamented that
“our political journey as a nation has tended
to play the ostrich over a few issues that have
continued to resurface as thorns in our flesh”.
The issues which he said are constitutional in
nature include the practice of true federalism, the question of indigene versus settlers,
the challenge of revenue mobilization and
allocation/ derivation principle and the concept of rotation of power.
For him, the nation has the opportunity to
address these thorny issues now that the Justice Belgore Commission has been set up to
look into matters requiring constitutional
amendment.
Gowon has said it all. The occasion he chose
to express his frustrations is also instructive.
It is good a thing that Bayero University and
the British Council found common ground
on the theme of the conference especially at
this time of our political evolution. This kind
of constructive engagement promises more
benefits to us than the vile attempts to implant discredited alien practices (gay or same
sex marriage) on our people.

Emeka
OMEIHE
08121971199
email: EmekaOmeihe@yahoo.com

Gowon’s lamentations
But this is not the first time Nigerians have
been challenged to the realities which these
issues pose in the task of nation building.
Since the return to democracy in 1999, there
have been strident calls for these issues to be
addressed so that this country can move forward. Many have cried out that as long as
these contentious challenges of our federal
structure are allowed to fester so long will
our nation remain in the doldrums.
The strident agitations for constitutional
conference, sovereign constitutional conference and far-reaching constitutional amendments are clear evidence of this realization.
In this wise, Gowon’s views fit in appropriately into similar ones expressed by Nigerians. But there is a difference here. On account
of the unique role he played in the political
evolution of the nation, he is the fit and appropriate person to speak on the matter and
be taken very seriously else we run the risk
of repeating the costly mistakes of the past.
But what remains curious however, is that
despite the seeming wide consensus on these
issues, no progress seems to have been made
in redressing them. The question that comes
to mind is, in whose interest is it that Nigeria
should continue to groan under these suffocating and debilitating problems. Whose interests are better served by the promotion of
the negative sides of these destabilizing tendencies? These are the questions to ponder
especially as Gowon, the chief apostle of Nigerian unity has lamented the continued slide
to the precipice. He has blamed politicians
for this ruinous slide in the same manner they
were blamed for events that precipitated the
first military coup in 1966 and the civil war

that followed.
But many including the politicians themselves have severally spoken on the urgent
need for true federalism and all the issues
raised by Gowon. Many have spoken on the
imperative of renegotiating the fundamentals of our existence as a federation as manifested in such issues as revenue sharing formula, derivation, residency factor and power
rotation. So will it be right to solely blame
the politicians for the unwillingness to take
the right steps to save this country? Instead
of blaming politicians alone, we should lay
the blame at the door steps of a cabal that
profits from keeping Nigeria in a perpetual
state of conflict. We need to identify and unmask that cabal for this nation to make
progress. Among them are those who have
displaced the overall interests of the country
with their self serving interests.
Before now, the Obasanjo administration
had responded to the vortex of public opinion on the imperative of restructuring
through the setting up of the National Political Reforms Conference. The conference
made wide consultations and deliberated
extensively on the vexed issues of our federal arrangement. Members made compromises and arrived at far reaching decisions
that would dismantle the obstacles to national
integration.
The conference was able to extract concessions from members to increase the revenue
sharing formula from the current 13 per cent
to 18 per cent and an additional state for the
South-east. It also took decisions on derivation, resource control, true federalism and
rotational presidency.

What remained was for the then National
Assembly to pass these recommendations
into law. But as fate would have it, the third
term ambition of Obasanjo threw spanners
into the wheel of that visionary and noble
exercise. Fearing that further discussions on
the matter might be exploited by Obasanjo
to push through his obnoxious ambition, the
national assembly threw overboard all matters relating to constitutional amendment.
With that, all expectations for progress
through the redressing of the vexed issues of
our federal structure came to naught. It was
not surprising shortly after the regime of late
Yar’Adua came on board, these agitations
resonated with great ferocity. Currently the
National Assembly is tinkering with constitutional amendment. President Jonathan has
also set up another. All these underscore the
point that all is not well with the present constitution bequeathed to us by the military.
But it is one thing to recognize the need for
restructuring through constitutional amendment and a different kettle of fish to muster
the necessary political will to push them
through. Before now, attempts have been
made to redress these only for such efforts to
hit the rocks at the last minute after a lot of
scarce resources had been expended. As it
stands, nobody is sure that the current attempts will not go the way of those before
them.
It is a matter of shame that after identifying
the sources of the fratricidal conflicts that have
held the nation prostrate, we lack the capacity to decisively redress them. The impression one gets is that we are not willing to
make the compromises that will enable us
live as one united and peaceful country. If
that is so, its corollary is the accentuation of
primordialism and separatism such that gave
rise to Gowon’s lamentations
We have another opportunity through constitutional amendment to take decisions that
will promote peaceful existence and national
stability. We cannot achieve these if we continue to trivialize the compelling imperative
which addressing true federalism, residency
factor, power rotation and state creation represent. We cannot make progress in a situation of inequitable revenue sharing formula;
where the ethnic nationalities are in constant
struggle with the central authority for the
loyalty of the citizens. We need to devolve
powers to the federating units to stave off
the bitter competition which over concentration of powers at the center engenders.

VIEW FROM THE FOREIGN PRESS

D

URING the Senate confirmation of
the reconstituted Governing Board
of the Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC, and its subsequent
inauguration by President Goodluck
Jonathan, some far-reaching comments
came forth. In particular, President
Jonathan and Senate President David
Mark helpfully enjoined members of the
new board to avoid the mistakes of their
predecessors by working together, and not
asunder, in order to enable the interventionist agency perform to expectations of
its numerous stakeholders. Such advice,
from very high echelons of the Federal Government clearly demonstrates the enormity
of the tasks ahead of the Dr. Tarila
Tepebah-led board. It also underscores the
crucial need for good corporate governance in NDDC and probably other public sector organisations.
Moreover, one inference can be made
from the counsel by Jonathan and Mark to
the new board of NDDC. It is that the
NDDC cannot act with effect except the
Governing Board acts in concert, despite
the plurality of views its diverse composition may generate. Peter Drucker, the management guru once suggested that modern
society’s
performance
is
organisations-reliant and managementdependent. Drucker’s suggestion is very
apt for the NDDC. This is because several
significant developments in the external
environment in which NDDC operates
heighten the utmost necessity for the commission to deliver good quality human and
infrastructure development projects to “the
highly beleaguered Niger Delta,” as Professor Wole Soyinka once described the
region during a visit to the NDDC.
One of these environmental triggers is
the Federal Government’s Vision 20:2020.
In order for Nigeria to attain the lofty vision of being one of the world’s top 20
economies by 2020, NDDC must rise to the
daunting challenge of facilitating the
speedy development of the Niger Delta.
Moreover, before the introduction of the
Federal
Government’s
amnesty

The new dawn at NDDC
By Pius Ughakpoteni
programme, the absence of peace in the
region used to be cited as a major impediment to development in the Niger Delta.
That argument can hardly hold water today, as relative peace now prevails in the
region. Above all, the Federal
Government’s transformation agenda for
improving the fortunes of this country
places enormous performance demands
on the NDDC.
Consequently, but without demeaning
the roles of NDDC rank and file, as well as
middle, senior and top management employees, the new board has a monumental
responsibility to provide strategic leadership for the commission to perform better.
Indeed, many corporate collapses have
been attributed to ineffective boards and
disunited executive management teams
whose members failed to work as one. This
is the crux of the matter and the critical
challenge for Dr. Tepebah and his colleagues. However, this challenge is intertwined with a tremendous opportunity for
them to make a difference. In addition, they
stand a chance to leave indelible footprints
on the sands of time. Theirs is akin to a
national call to avert a calamitous collapse
of a promising organisation that has the
potential to make the Niger Delta measure
up to stakeholders’ expectations. But for
them to act as a tonic to the NDDC, they
may need to draw on tested tenets of corporate governance.
One of these is the Cadbury Code of Best
Practice published in 1992 based on the
recommendations of a committee set up in
the United Kingdom in 1991 and headed
by Sir Adrian Cadbury. This document
advocates “clearly accepted division of responsibilities at the head of a company,
which will ensure a balance of power and
authority, with no individual having un-

fettered powers.” Although NDDC is not
a company, its Governing Board has a
chairman, a managing director, two executive directors and several non-executive directors. In order to truly make a difference, the board members will need to
really ensure separation of the two key
roles of chairman of the board and managing director/CEO of NDDC.
Elsewhere, Cadbury, an authority in corporate governance spells out roles of the
board chairman, non-executive directors
and company secretary. He situates responsibility for effectiveness of the board
in the bosom of the chairman. He
emphasises that board effectiveness requires the efforts of all members, but above
all coaching and leadership by the chair.
Cadbury suggests that the chairman is
responsible for running the board; a responsibility that is quite distinct from that
of the CEO for managing the organisation.
According to Cadbury, the non-executive
directors have an equally key role, given
their expected distance from the day-today management of their organisation.
They are in a vantage position to objectively review the performance of the CEO
and the executive team. He also suggests
that the varied experiences they bring on
board are of particular value in strategy
formulation. There is no question about
it; the new board is composed of extremely
experienced people and this strength
needs to be effectively maximised with
mutual understanding. Cadbury also
suggests that board members should seek
from the board secretary, impartial and
professional guidance on their responsibilities.
Similarly the Higgs Report (2003), also
issued in the United Kingdom, put forward some characteristics of an effective

board. One of these is a chair who has a
strong, complementary relationship with
the CEO and other members of the board.
Another is a culture of openness and constructive dialogue in an environment of
trust and mutual respect.
One major shortcoming of the immediate past board was disunity among the top
three executives. This was more damaging because as executive board members,
they were expected to drive implementation of strategies crafted by the board. Consequently, it may be worthwhile for the
new MD/CEO and the two executive directors to also draw on best practices pertaining to the operation of top management
teams. Recent studies revealed that a high
level of mutual understanding and collaboration among members of top management teams and their participation in strategic decision making promote the quality
of strategic decisions and facilitate implementation. In addition, meeting regularly
as a team has been found to improve communication and cooperation among top
management teams.
Above all, it is pertinent to refer to the
title and contents of a book by Bob Garrat,
that focuses on the functioning of boards
of directors- The fish rots from the head. We
hope that will no longer be the lot of NDDC
with the coming of the new board.
• Ughakpoteni writes from Port Harcourt,
Rivers State

‘One major shortcoming
of the immediate past
board was disunity among
the top three executives.
This was more damaging
because as executive board
members, they were expected to drive implementation of strategies crafted
by the board’

•We hope to stage best NSF- Oshodi
HAT the Lagos State
government at the weekend
signed the Protocol of
Agreement with the leadership of the
National Sports Commission (NSC)
led by its Director General (DG) and
acting Minister of Sports, Patrick
Ekeji, to host the National Sport
Festival (NSF) is no longer news, but
what is news, however, is that
Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola
and his team admits that the task
ahead is a herculean one.
Speaking to NationSport after the
formal signing ceremony held at the
governor’s office, Alausa Ikeja,
Fashola in his usual fashion conceded
that considering the period of time
available to prepare and stage the
biennial games, there’s serious work
to be done.
But he, however, expressed
optimism that his administration will
rise up to the challenge in ensuring
that the hosting of the festival is given

•Fashola

By Innocent Amomoh

the best shot.
“We will be ready.There's a lot of
work to do, preparation to be done,
and planning to do. We will need to
inaugurate several committees that
will be working, there will be a time
tag, we will be working over the next
ten months in readiness for the games
as we progress,” he said.
Throwing more light on the views
of his boss, the Commissioner for
Youth,
Sports,
and
Social
Development, Wahid Enitan Oshodi
said though it is going to take a lot of
hard work, the state is determined to
stage the best ever NSF. H i s
words: “his excellency has said, we are
hoping to stage the best ever National
Sports Festival. It is going to take a lot
of hard work but we have everything
in Lagos. We have a sports loving
public, we have the facilities in place.
We are just going to have everybody
in Lagos and hope they have a good
time.”
On what the signing of the
agreement with the NSC meant to
him, Oshodi said: “Officially what the
signing of the Protocol of Agreement
means is that we kick-start
preparations now.
There's no going back again. It tells
us all the things we need to be doing.
Preparation is underway already and
we are just going to do every thing we
need to do to ensure that we host and
host well.”
The last festival was hosted by Rivers
State, and the 18th edition is slated to
commence in Lagos State from
November 27th through to December
9 next year.

‘NICEGA Games to
foster unity, friendship’

T

HE 17th Nigeria Colleges of
Education Games, NICEGA,
tagged 'Akalaka 2012' and been
hosted by Federal College of
Education (Technical) Omoku in
Rivers state is said to be geared
towards fostering better friendship
and unity amongst the Nigerian
students.
According to the host Provost, Dr.
Silas Oguzor who addressed the press
after a facility tour at the host
institution, the school is not desperate
to host and win but is desirous to
attract a participation that will
enhance good relationship, with
national unity as the watch word.
He also noted that the games is
expected to throw up new talents that
will be groomed to represent the
nation at international competitions.
Dr. Oguzor who doubles as the LOC
Chairman of the games assured of
completion of all works at the venues

From Florence Nkem Israel,
Port Harcourt
before the January 25 kick off of the
events.While expressing appreciation
to FERMA for the ongoing
rehabilitation of Omoku major road
which will facilitates easy movement
between the two campuses of the
institution, he also revealed that
accommodation for athletes and
officials is already being addressed as
the students are set to vacate the
hostels any moment from now to
allow for commencement of
renovation works.
He also expressed gratitude to the
River State Sports Council for offering
to assist the institution with
transportation and other games
equipment for successful hosting of
the games that will keep the Oil city
of Omoku bubbling with life from
January 25 - 5th February, 2012.

World wide coverage for Copa
Lagos 2011
K

INETIC Sports have covered
what appears to be every angle
to make sure that Copa Lagos
2011 is literally unmissable. Giants,
SuperSport will be the main producers
for the event which gets underway in
exactly 1 week. They will have exclusive
live coverage, studio at the VIP stand as
well as expert analysis coming directly
from the elegant stadium itself.
Official national partner will be AIT
they will be broadcasting the event into
the homes of Nigerians all over the
country. Indeed the full coverage of Copa
Lagos extends to 250 million households
globally and live/delayed coverage on
over 21 international channels, sponsors
are set to enjoy the global exposure their
brands will receive
The tournament can be viewed in these
countries and on these TV stations:

EPORTS linking Nwankwo
Kanu with a move to
Wellington Phoenix are way
off the mark according to the club's
coach Ricki Herbert.
Reports linking Nwankwo Kanu
with a move to Wellington Phoenix
are way off the mark according to the
club's coach Ricki Herbert.
Kanu, 35, is apparently interested in
securing a 10-game guest stint in the
A-League in an attempt to land a
lucrative contract in Asia.
The former Arsenal, Ajax and Inter
Milan striker is contracted to
Portsmouth
in
England's
championship but has struggled to get
regular game time.
In 2008 he was linked with a move to
Gold Coast and Sydney FC were
interested in signing him a few months
ago before balking at the asking price.
Herbert said there had been no
contact with the former Nigerian
captain's representatives and added he
had no real interest in signing the
striker.

"I think there was a general
circulation around all the A-League
clubs at the start of the year and I think
we've just been part of that
correspondence," Herbert said.
"I don't think (we're interested) at this
stage. The January window is the one
(we're looking at).
If we do recruit at the club ideally for
me it would be someone who would
come for a longer period of time.
Maybe a longer-term signing for a
couple of years."
The Phoenix have several players
coming out of contract at the end of
the season and Herbert has made it
clear re-signing key players such as
Manny Muscat, captain Andrew
Durante and Vince Lia remain the
priority now Paul Ifill has been secured
for another two years.
Durante has already opened
negotiations with the Wellington club
and appears close to re-signing, while
Herbert is also keen to keep striker/
assistant coach Chris Greenacre in the
New Zealand capital as well.

Falode charges Flamingoes on
national teams’ revival

C

OORDINATOR of All Nigeria
Women national teams, Aisha
Falode, has charged the Under17 Women national team, styled ‘the
Flamingoes’ currently in camp to
kick-start the process of rediscovering
the country’s dominance at all levels
of the game in Africa.
Falode gave the charge when she
was introduced to the team and its
technical crew by the Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF) crew on Thursday
in Abuja.
While waving off the charge of some
overaged players in the camp, Falode,
said what Nigeria needs at the
moment is the confidence that it once
held as the ultimate super power in
women’s football in the continent of
Africa and one of the giants of the
game in world football.
“As the first team to resume
camping for the qualifiers for the
World Cup, you must prove to the
world that we have the players and
character to return to the summit of
Women’s football and wipe away

recent misfortunes of our national
teams not doing well or qualifying
for major championships.
The CAF Media Committee
member, promised on her part to use
her position as National Teams’s
Coordinator, to ensure that the
welfare of all players in camp is well
taken care of, assuring that she has the
words of NFF President, Aminu
Maigari, that all Women’s national
teams will be well catered for.

IGERIAN rejuvinated striker
Yakubu Aiyegbeni may
continue to play for Blackburn
without salary as the club is heading
for a financial crisis.
The relegation-threatened side have
been asked to deposit £10m into their
Barclays account by New Years' Eve
as fears grow about their future.
If they fail to do so, then the bank
will refuse to extend the club's
overdraft with enough funds to cover
the players' wages after January
Barclays say the payment is part of an

2-1.
Rovers took a surprise lead when
Simon Vukcevic tapped home from close
range after Keiren Westwood parried
Chris Samba’s shot into his path.
The home side were on top for most of
the game but had to wait until the final
10 minutes before getting the
breakthrough as Vaughan crashed an
effort home in the 83rd minute.
Sunderland found the winner in injury
time as Rovers sat back and Larsson
curled a free-kick into the bottom corner
to seal the win for the former Villa boss.

Hodgson: Odemwingie needs time

W

EST BROM boss Roy
Hodgson has admitted that
Osaze Odemwingie was short
of his best in Saturday's 2-1 defeat by
Wigan - but is confident he can still forge
a strong strike partnership with Shane
Long.
The Nigeria hitman made his first start
in five games after putting his injury
problems behind him in last weekend's
30-minute cameo against QPR.
And, although not firing on all cylinders,
Hodgson was pleased to see him get
another 81 minutes under his belt.
"He's been out for quite a while so it's
understandable he wasn't at his best," said
the Baggies boss.
"It was good he could play for 81
minutes because I still think he is a
dangerous player. We had a lot of the
ball, he had a lot of the ball. It didn't fall
for him on this occasion but it's good for

Olowo, Ohawuchi,
Ibenegbu vie for
Heartland MVP Award

him that he was in there where it matters.
"It's good to see him receiving the ball
in areas where he is going to be under
pressure. We know he is a quality player

and over the rest of the season, if I can get
him up there playing with Shane Long on a
regular basis, I'm pretty sure we'll be
dangerous. We'll see how that partnership

Wigan boss hails Victor Moses
W
IGAN manager Roberto
Martinez hailed the
performance of striker
Victor Moses after he celebrated his
21st birthday 48 hours early with a
crucial role in the 2-1 win at West
Brom.
Moses scored his first goal for 13
months to cancel out the opener
from Steven Reid's free-kick and then
won the penalty converted by Jordi
Gomez for the winner.
Martinez said: "I don't think Victor

has had a bad spell this season. He has
been very consistent. He is only 20, he
had a great birthday present, on
Monday he is 21 and the first goal was
as good a finish as you are going to get
in this league."
He added: "I know that sometimes
playing for Wigan you are not going
to get as much credit as playing for
other clubs.
"But the way he has been working on
a daily basis, he has got huge potential
and I've got no doubts that he is going

to fulfil it."
Albion have now conceded penalties
in four successive home games but
head coach Roy Hodgson preferred
not to comment on decisions made
by referee Mike Dean.
He said: "My wife slaughters me for
complaining about the penalties, and
she is probably right, so I prefer to
say nothing.
"People can make up their own
mind. We will just get on with it. There
is no doubt that it was a penalty for
their goal. If he (Dean) got any of the
others (decisions) wrong, I don't
know. Time will tell. The TVs will go
through the analysis. They will come
up with the answers. I will keep my
mouth shut."
Meanwhile, Moses is still waiting
for Wigan to reopen contract talks
after initial discussions more than a
month ago.
The 20-year-old, who has just 18
months left on his present deal, has
been one of the few beacons of light
in a dismal season for the Latics.
Moses’ advisers are hoping to
negotiate Wigan’s opening offer of a
five-year deal worth £14,000 a week,
but have so far been met with silence.

rushing over to hug him if they
score against Man City on

IGERIA's Emannuel Idoko
and Sarah Adegoke made
the country proud in the
male and female categories of the
African Under-14 Masters of the
Confederation of African Tennis
(CAT) after emerging overall
winners in the championship
which was concluded over the
weekend.
The lads who arrived the country
aboard Kenya Airways on
Saturday were received by a
representative of the President of
the Nigeria Tennis Federation
(NTF) Sanni Ndanusa and the
Vice-President of the NTF, Yemi
Owoseni.
According to Owoseni this was
the first time Nigeria would make
an impact at the junior tourney
after
recording
so
many
disappointing outings in previous
competitions.
However, for those who
performed well, CAT will offer
further assistance by providing
travel assistance in order to
participate in the International

T

•Peter Odemwingie of West Bromwich
Albion celebrates scoring the second goal
during the Barclays Premier League match

By Stella Bamawo

Tennis Federation junior events
Grade Four and Five next year.
There is also a cash prize of
US$1,000 each for winners in both
boys and girls categories; US$ 6 00
for first runners-up and US$400 for
second runners-up.
Nigeria’s Joseph Umeh placed
third in the championship which
brought together Africa's best
eight boys and eight girls tennis
players. The players were selected
as a result of their performance in
All African Under-14 circuit
including the African Junior
Championships.
Meanwhile, Nigeria is gearing up
of the Africa Junior Tennis
Championship which will be
hosted in the country in January.
The AJC which has been slated for
the National Stadium will gather
more than two hundred junior
tennis players from West Africa.
The Nationsports gathered that 16
courts will be constructed for the
tournament.

AST seasons CAF Champions
League
semi
finalists,
Enyimba with 4 players
topped the 22-man list drawn from
the Nigeria Premier League (NPL)
for a friendly encounter with
League’s defending champions,
Dolphins FC during the body’s
Annual General Meeting (AGM) in
Yenagoa, Bayelsa later this week.
The roll call made available to
NationSport has the best of the NPL
this past season on parade and they
include the current All Time
Leading Scorer in the League, Jude
Aneke of Kaduna United, Ajani
Ibrahim of Sunshine Stars, George
Akpabio of relegated Plateau United
among others.
The list comprise of 3 goalkeepers,
7 defenders, 5 midfielders and 7
strikers.

Nigeria lifters head for
London on Tueday

HE Nigerian team to the 4th
edition of Commonwealth
Powerlifting Champioship
slated for Bournemouth University,
England will leave the country
tomorow. The championship begins
from December 15 to 18.
The powerlifters include Waheed
Kareem and Mathew Oluwatuyi, Idris
Ibrahim and Muritala Muhammed,
Sulaiman Samsondeen (men), Gloria
Moses and Toyin Adesanmi (women).
The Nigeria team will square up
against lifters from England, Wales,
Australia, India, Scotland, South Africa
and Canada.
According to the team's coach, Enefiok
Bassey, the target is to win three to four
gold for Nigeria.
"Ours is to give good account of
ourselves. We know the European teams
especially will give us a good
competiton, but we are up to the task,"
the coach said.
Enefiok noted that the lifters are in good
frame of mind with no injury worry.
"With the training the lifters have gone
through, I have confidence of medal
prospect. We have trained under intense
pressure, raw and hard way which I
believe is an impectus to lift the spirit of

Monday. To them it all seems a
bit silly and desperate."

CONFEDERATION OF AFRICAN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

COMMONWEALTH POWERLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIP

A

CE defender, Emmanuel Olowo,
mercurial midfielder, Stanley
Ohawuchi and Ikechukwu
Ibenegbu, a.k.a. Mosquito, are the final
three nominees short-listed for the
Heartland FC Most Valuable Player
(MVP) award for the 2010/11 season.
A statement by the club’s Media Officer,
Cajetan Nkwopara over the weekend
said the final round of voting to select the
winner was already in progress while
the award ceremony will be performed
during the fund-raising dinner cum award
night slated for December 17, 2011 in
Owerri.
Also, four players, Daniel Akpeyi
(goalkeeper), Kalu Orji Okagbue,
Benjamin Francis and Chinedu Udeh
(goalkeeper) are all in contention for the
Best Behaved Player (BBP) award while
Obinna Nwachukwu, Tope Olusesi,
Morris Enete and Onuwa Chukwuka are
competing for the Most Promising Young
Player (MPYP) award.
The screening committee headed by
Promise Nwachukwu is expected to
round work by Wednesday this week to
enable the organizers contact the winners.
According to the statement, all the
players, coaches and management staff
were eligible to vote.
Many ex-internationals will also be
honoured during the occasion.
The event which is part of the strategy
designed to bring Heartland FC closer to
the corporate world, will be hosted by
the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas
Okorocha.

agreement made by Indian poultry
firm Venky's when they bought
Rovers last November.
But boss Anuradha Desai is believed
to be refusing to stump up the cash
from Venky's reserves, saying it must
come from existing club funds.
Blackburn coaches and scouts are said
to have been told they face budget cuts
and possible job losses in the New
Year, according to the Mail On Sunday.
However, Aiygbeni could not lift
Blackburn against Sunderland at the
Stadium of Light as they went down

HESEA boss Andre VillasBoas will join Nigeria
international, Mikel Obi
and his teammates in the team's
goal celebrations.
In a Saturday night decision by
the management of Chelsea, the
coach must be involved in the
celebration whenever the team
scores.
A Chelsea spokesman said: "The
manager has asked the players to
look across and recognise him and
his staff on the bench after a goal.
"He believes that by celebrating
together it shows we are all in it
together. That's the players, the
manager, the subs, the staff, the
medical people — everyone
working
and
celebrating
together."
But the idea is being mocked by
some of his squad who are said to
be increasingly at odds with their
rookie boss.
A Stamford Bridge insider said:
"There are a few players who don't
feel very 'together' with the
manager right now.
"So I'm not sure anybody will be

By Bimbo Adesina
the lifters," the coach stressed.
He noted that as far as
Commonwealth is concerned, Nigeria
cannot be held back which is why the
competition is going to be intense
because they know what we can offer.
"We are working the World
Championship in Costa Rica next year.
If our lifters can achive gold feat, they
will have automatic ticket to World
Championship. We also want to show
Nigerians that there other sports that
can make this country proud aside
football," Enefiok added.
Captain of the team, Waheed Kareem
stressed that the team is ready to make
the country proud.
"With the training, we are sure of
medals. We are training from Monday
to Sunday, though tough but have
strenghtened us for the challenge. At
least three gold and two silver," Kareem
said.
Gloria Moses who is competing in the
women's category said the coach has
done a lot to put all the lifters on the
path of glory. She noted that lack of
encouragment has not helped the lifters
to achieve their target.

Unlike other ethnic nationalities, the Yoruba lack a united and cohesive socio-political group for
interest articulation. Can Afenifere, which had filled the vacuum in the past, bounce back? Deputy
Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes on the tragedy of the once vibrant mouthpiece writhing
in pains of fading influence in the polity.

F

Can Afenifere bounce back?

ROM its base in the Southwest, the group
fired salvos at the military. Members
were rugged, steadfast, committed democrats and unbending pro-democracy crusaders who defiled soldiers’ bullets. Their leaders were harassed, detained and exiled by the
power that be. But they did not desert the battle field out of principle and conviction.
Throughout the dark period of military rule,
Afenifere chieftains, led by the late Chief
Adekunle Ajasin, and later, Senator Abraham
Adesanya, were thorns in the flesh of soldiers
of fortune who held the country to ransom. In
honour, integrity and credibility, the group
had no deficiency. The apex leadership also
commanded the respect of the six geo-political zones.
That was 12 years ago. Today, Afenifere is
in a fix. Things have fallen apart and the centre cannot hold. The once thriving, potent and
vibrant umbrella organisation, which had its
ascendancy in Awolowo political family, is a
shadow of itself. The cord is severed and members who are scattered across the political parties locked in the hot battle for power are in
disarray. Now, when Afenifere sneezes, nobody catches cold. To observers, the panYoruba group is now a toothless bull dog.
About five years ago, one of the leaders,
Chief Rueben Fasoranti, lamented the implications of the disunity in Yorubaland, particularly among Afenifere members. “We have
now been relegated to the sidelines precisely
because we have lost our unity and focus, and
others no longer think they will lose anything,
if they do not reckon with us”, he observed.
Since 1999, the Yoruba group had ceased to
be a united front, although the self-induced
stress was somehow managed by its leader,
Adesanya, who deployed his wisdom and
wielded the two blocs-Ajayi/Adebanjo and
Ige tendencies in unsteady cohabitation. Since
1983, members had fought for the restoration
of civil rule. When Afenifere/Alliance for
Democracy won power in the six states, it however, failed to manage the achievement. The
opportunity slipped away in 2003. When the
stolen mandate was restored this year,
Afenifere had no positive contribution to
make to the titanic struggle for the soul of the
Southwest.
The intra-group crises were in phases, finally
culminating into the factionalisation of the
fold. Two irreconcilable factions wobble on
in antagonism. The first group, backed by the
residual class of “Ijebu Mafia”, is led by the
foremost politician, Chief Reuben Fasoranti.
But the spirit behind it is the former Ogun
State Governor Gbenga Daniel. The second
faction, which consists of those opposed to the
former, is said to be led on paper by another
Awoist, Senator Ayo Fasanmi. Both the Acting Leader, Fasoranti, and Deputy Leader,
Fasanmi, joined the Action Group (AG) in 1951.
In Fasanmi’s group, which is actually the
majority, are former AD governors, Southwest Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governors, members of Justice Forum, and many
key progressive politicians in the region.
However, since his ascension to the position,
no regular meeting has been held. Unlike this
faction, Fasoranti’s group still meet regularly
in Lagos every Monday at its headquater,
Jibowu. But both sides are no more in the reckoning of the people.
Efforts to reconcile them by the members of
the Afenifere Renewal Group led by Hon.
Wale Oshun, had collapsed. Representatives
from the warring factions turned up at Ibadan,
the political capital of the Southwest, for a
peace meeting few years back. However, they
returned to their respective camps with a resolve to fight to finish.
In the April general elections, while
Fasoranti camp campaigned for candidates
running on the platform of Daniel’s Peoples
Party of Nigeria (PPN), members of Fasanmi’s
group, naturally, ACN chieftains.
How did the association fall from its Olym-

• The late Senator Abraham Adesanya, Chief Olaniwun Ajayi and Chief Ayo Adebanjo during the 2003 AD rally at Ake Palace, Abeokuta,
Ogun State
pian height? Why did a strong organisation
suddenly become a weak vehicle? Why is
Afenifere irrelevant today in the scheme of
things?
Unfortunately, cracks appeared on the wall,
shortly before the 1999 elections. Unable to
resolve the initial crisis, which, in part, was a
carry-over of intra-group suspicion from
Awolowo days, it snowballed into major problem which has taken serious toll on the organisation. Since 1999 to date, there was never
a year that Afenifere was free from internal
wrangling. What has remained intact is the
historical attachment to Awolowo, and not the
actual practice of what the sage stood for in all
ramifications.
In 1999, there was the fusion of the organisation with its baby, the Alliance for Democracy
(AD). Four years later, the fusion generated
tension and members were instigated to mount
pressure for the separation of the two bodies.
In 2003, Afenifere became a platform for political trading when AD governors openly
campaigned for Obasanjo’s second term bid.
In 2007, the house had fallen totally, with
Afenifere members scouting for spaces in Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) and Action Congress of
Nigeria (ACN).
Disagreement over how to run the group
had led to the exit of intellectuals from the
group around 2002. Then, egg heads like Prof.
Bolaji Akinyemi and Dr Dapo Fafowora could
not cope within the group, despite sharing the
goals of the group. The elders insisted on the
old method of running the fold, unmindful of
the dynamic nature of the contemporary society. Criticisms were rebuffed by Awolowo

associates who milled around Senator
Adesanya, labeling them as too young to
know the details of the credo. Reflecting on
the fate of the group, Akinyemi, whose father
was an Awoist, submitted that “Nigeria and
Africa have been plagued with the tensions
arising from making a transition from political systems dominated by founding fathers to
systems managed by first among equals”.
The former Foreign Affairs Minister had
cause to doubt the moral purity of the leadership, based on experience. While he reasoned
that, in crisis period, most of the courageous,
steadfast, honourable and dogged fighters on
the barricades of a cause would be found in
Afenifere, Akinyemi also pointed out that it is
open to question whether some of the dramatis personate recognised an Afenifere interest
above personal interest.
Collectively, Afenifere members are united
by its fundamental goals. These are even beyond the promotion of the narrow Yoruba
interest. In his book titled: “The kiss of death:
Afenifere and the infidels”, ARG leader
Olawale Oshun listed them to include the fight
for true and sustainable federalism, resource
sharing based on derivation, respect, equality
and equity for all nationalities, greater autonomy reflecting in the creation of state police and the power to determine the development priorities of their respective people.
Many now doubt the ability of the group to
vigorously mobilise for the realisation of these
fundamental goals.
There is no evidence that the split in the
Yoruba group has ideological connotation.
Ajayi, Adebanjo, Wumi Adegbonmire, Femi
Okunrounmu, Fasanmi, Durojaye, Akande,

‘There is no evidence that the split in the Yoruba group has ideological connotation Collectively, Afenifere members are united by its fundamental goals. These are even beyond the
promotion of the narrow Yoruba interest. The goals include the fight for true and sustainable federalism, resource sharing based on derivation, respect, equality and equity for all
nationalities, greater autonomy reflecting in the creation of state police and the power to
determine the development priorities of their respective people. Many now doubt the ability
of the group to vigorously mobilise for the realisation of these fundamental goals’

Lam Adesina, Michael Koleoso, Segun Osoba,
Bola Tinubu, Oshun, Olatunji Hamzat, Segun
Adegoke, and Akin Omojola are advocates of
federalism and restructuring. The point of departure is the endless personality clashes.
To concerned Afenifere members, the escalated crises that have heralded the eclipse of
the organisation to oblivion had their roots in
the Bola Ige/Ayo Adebanjo personality
clashes and Ganiyu Dawodu/Bola Tinubu battle for supremacy and survival. Right from
Awolowo days, Ige and Adebanjo had not enjoyed total cordial relationship, although they
remained fiercely loyal to one leader, Awo.
As Ige lost the AD presidential ticket to Chief
Olu Falae, hell was let loose. When Ige moved
against his perceived foes, including Adebanjo,
his first act, after becoming a minister under
former President Olusegun Obasanjo, was to
raise his former commissioner when he was
governor of Oyo State, Chief Michael Koleoso,
to challenge Adebanjo’s bid to retain his position as national vice chairman of AD. The party
was destined for two parallel convention; one
in Eagle Squares; another at Abuja Gardens.
In Lagos State, Dawodu, who never hid his
dislike for Tinubu, wrestled for the soul of the
AD with the former governor as the state
Afenifere leader. The governor acted fast by
building a solid political structure that could
survive without the pan-Yoruba socio-political group ahead of 2003 elections. When
Dawodu, backed by Afenifere leaders of Ogun
State origin, moved against Tinubu machinery, following the rejection of the 60:40 formula for the sharing of elective and appointive
offices in Lagos state, it crashed. At that stage,
it was evident that a progressive route to
power was still possible outside Afenifere.
This decade has been turbulent for Afenifere.
What is worrisome is the lack of crisis resolution mechanism within the organisation. When
AD deputy governors; Kofoworola AkereleBucknor and Iyiola Omisore were at war with
their bosses, when Governors Adebayo
Adefarati and Adeniyi Adebayo were at war
• Continued on page 26

26

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

POLITICS
Adopt PRONACO draft, group tells Jonathan

F

RONTLINE nationalist and
leader of the Movement for
National Reformation (MNR)
Chief Emakpor Ajise has advised
President Goodluck Jonathan and
the Constitution Review Committee to adopt the Pro-National Conference (PRONACO) draft constitution to pave the way for true federalism.
The 80-years old politician also
asked the President to handle the
Bayelsa State Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP)governorship primaries
with care, warning that it could lead
to another crisis in the Niger Delta.
Ajise told reporters in Benin City,
capital of Edo State, that a lot of challenges would confront the President
next year, advising him to show
courage and commitment to national ideals.
He said: “There was a PRONACO
conference in Lagos in 2005 chaired
by the late Chief Anthony Enahoro.

• Governor

Ajimobi cutting the tape to inaugurate the YES-O scheme in Ibadan.

A major initiative to bring youths into his “transformation, reformation and restoration” agenda drew thousands of residents and beneficiaries to the Obafemi
Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan last week as Governor Abiola Ajimobi launched the
YES-O scheme, which offered 20,000 jobs to youths, BISI OLADELE and TAYO
JOHNSON report.

Day Ajimobi moved to
tame unemployment
A

LARGE crowd gathered at
the
historic
Obafemi
Awolowo Stadium (formerly
Liberty Stadium) last Thursday to
witness another step in the rebirth of
Oyo, the Pace-Setter State.
The gathering came only six
months after a similar enthusiastic
crowd defied the scorching sun to
welcome a new era after years of unfulfilled expectations.
Then, it was the swearing-in of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, the symbol of
the expected change, at the same
venue on May 29.
Since he came, he has either been
hailed by those who acknowledge
the need to take the few steps he has
taken so far to give the people improved
environment
and
reorientation or criticised by those
who feel otherwise.
Ajimobi had stated in one of the
public forums that the multitude of
people that graced the inauguration
of his administration was unprecedented, stressing that the people’s
expectations were high. The implication, according to him, is that his
administration would not let the people down.
Among other steps, the governor
stepped forward to flag off the Youth
Empowerment Scheme of Oyo State
(YES-0) as part of fulfillment of his
electioneering campaign to employ
20,000 youths within the first few
months of his administration.
As it turned out, several residents
and dignitaries thronged the 100,000
capacity stadium to witness a new
deal for the youth who were ecstatic
at the opportunity offered them to
earn a living. Dignitaries who saw
the merit in the governor’s approach
and thus identified with the scheme
included traditional rulers, politicians, businessmen and ordinary
people. Itinerant drummers, political supporters and spectators also had
fun as they witnessed a project that
was described as “unprecedented” in
the history of the 35-year old state.
The newly employed youths, who
from ear to ear despite the scorching
sun, were elated all through as they
shouted: “YES-O” to salutes from the
governor and other top government
functionaries who addressed them.
The beneficiaries where drawn
from across the 33 local governments
areas of the State. The education sec-

tor took 5, 400 youths, 4,302 were sent
to the Works sector and 3,700 deployed to render agricultural services.
Others include 2,672 for Health,
1,515 for Emergency services while
2407 are to be attached to work as
Environmental Cadets.
Small as their monthly allowance
of 10,000 Naira seem, it means the
whole world to many of them who
had probably lost the hope of earning an income through white collar
job or who are weighed down by important family expenditure.
Yet, to some, it is a route to the civil
service. To some others, it is the platform to acquire the experience needed
to fire their career.
Job creation is a focal point in
Ajimobi’s economic regeneration
agenda. He insists time and again that
the state boasts of so many potentials
that, if well tapped, are enough to better the lot of indigenes and many
more who are not too lazy to earn a
living.
Two other projects which are expected to create additional jobs in
millions are the proposed Free Trade
Zone in Ibadan and the Okerete TransBorder Market, Saki. The two projects
which will soon take off are expected
to generate more than five million
jobs.
Addressing beneficiaries at the
event, the governor urged them to
be apostles and agents of change.
Ajimobi lamented the high rate of
unemployment among the youth,
saying that the situation, if not addressed urgently, portends danger for
the country.
He said: “The statistics of unemployment in Nigeria is indeed alarming”, adding that of Nigeria’s 150
million population, about 40 million
were unemployed. Because 45 per
cent of the Nigerian population is between the ages of 15 and 40 years, the
implication is that this menace of unemployment critically affects the
youth.
“Unemployment poses great danger, not only to the Nigerian nation,
but to the peace of this country at
large. As it is said, if we don’t engage
the youth, they will engage us!”
The governor described unemployment as a virus, which had eaten deep
into the social fabrics of the nation,
saying that it had caused social dis-

quiet from the governed to the government and had the propensity to
cause a revolt.
According to Ajimobi, unemployment is the harbinger of the spate of
crimes, kidnapping, perennial youth
unrest and the acutely unstable socioeconomic structure that has bedeviled
Nigeria. “If we at the helm of affairs
must continue to administer the country without any disequilibrium, an
end must be made to come to the
problem of unemployment in the
country,’’ he said.
Ajimobi noted that before now,
many administrations had developed
a couple of ways of tackling rising
unemployment in the country.
“For some administrations, gathering a few hundreds of pepper-grinding machines and bicycles to the army
of unemployed youth was the appropriate response to this menace. But
experience has shown that these efforts eventually entered into the vortex of hopelessness as they soon became enmeshed in political patronage dispensation. Indeed, such efforts
soon became a hub of corruption, leaving the recipients of this governmental intervention worse than they were
before government’s intervention,’’
he said, adding that only a system that
gave dignity and voice to the unemployed could succeed in wiping away
their tears.”
He said that the YES-O scheme was
projected to give the employed a sense
of belonging, acting as a resource base
for the state in other areas of need.
The governor said that right from
its inception, his administration was
aware that, for it to effectively affect
the lives of a great number of its population of which the youth was key, it
must tackle the monster of unemployment headlong.
His words: “This was why, at the
outset of this administration, we made
it clear that provision of job for our
teeming unemployed youth is primary in the list of our ‘firsts.’
Ajimobi added that the YES-O
scheme was just a minute spectrum
of his administration’s youth empowerment scheme, stressing that “we intend to engage the youth in productive ventures that would take them
away from crimes and other destructive ventures. We do not want the
youth to be seen as a curse to our children but one to be relished and savoured,’’ he stressed.

A draft constitution which is a product of that conference drawn up by
a committee headed by the late Prof.
Jadesola Akande spelt out better
ways to run the country. The document has been in circulation since
2007.
“The conference proved the point
that the amalgamation of 1914 created a lot of problems. When the
colonialists were here, they recognised the diversity of the different
tribes and treated them as autonomous entities. The military regime
distorted all that. The deliberations
at the conference proved that Nigerians are not one people, but the
people could live together in one
country after a careful dialogue on
the basis of unity in diversity”.
Ajise advised the President to subject the PRONACO draft to a referendum, stressing that it has reflected the peoples’ formula for
peaceful co-existence.

Can Afenifere bounce back?
• Continued from page 25

over Ondo/Ekiti joint property, when leadership tussle broke out in AD
between Chief Bisi Akande and Senator Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa, when scores
of aggrieved Afenifere/AD chieftains were defecting from the party to PDP,
the political family, now more vulnerable, could not resolve the multiple
crises. Clamour for restructuring was rebuffed and consequently, the group
was in short of fresh ideas. To date, the group has been an edifice on crisis.
From D’Rovans Hotel, Ibadan, the group split. The AD presidential convention was expected to be a coronation of a sort for Ige, Afenifere deputy
leader. When he lost out, his ego was bruised. A fighter, the former Oyo
State governor vowed to revenge. To spite his colleagues, he accepted to
serve in Obasanjo’s cabinet at a wrong time and contrary to the mood of the
Southwest. He never returned alive.
Around the same period, two founding chieftains of Afenifere; Venerable
Emmanuel Alayande and Justice Adewale Thompson; rallied other eminent
Yoruba elders outside Afenifere to form the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE).
There was the suspicion that the new group enjoyed the backing of Ige,
whose membership of Obasanjo government became an issue, unlike the
appointment of Adebanjo into the tiny constitution review committee and
Senator Cornelius Adebayo as minister.
When Ige died, his camp became divided. Two associates of Ige; Akande
and Akinfenwa, decided to contest the AD chairmanship. Those opposed to
Ige in Afenifere queued behind the senator. But Tinubu, Adesina, and
Adebayo rooted for Akande’s chairmanship. The Mamman Yusuf/Ahmed
Abdulkadir scenario was reenacted, with AD becoming factionalised to its
roots. It was becoming clear that AD was about to be liquidated. At will, the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was being teleguided
to toss the party around with recognition and withdrawal of the same from
Akande and Akinfenwa fortnightly.
The leader, Adesanya, could not resolve the crisis until he passed on,
following protracted illness. Now, the positions of the leader and deputy
leader was vacant. Up came Fasoranti as the Acting Leader. Eyes were on
him as he stepped into the big shoe. His fitness for the role was not questioned until he pronounced Akinfenwa as the authentic chairman of AD in
Akure. It was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Akande/ Tinubu/
Osoba group consequently revisited the process Fasoranti’s emergence, saying that they were not aware about his nomination by Adesanya. A meeting
was summoned, and at the Jibowu headquarter, Fasanmi was made the
deputy leader. A battle ensued on who is the leader in post-Adesanya era.
Concerned Yoruba sons, including Tokunbo Ajasin, packaged reconciliation, which hit the rocks. ARG also waded into the protracted crisis. At a
retreat in Ibadan, Fasoranti and Fasanmi embraced, but there was no renewal of contact.
Another opportunity came for the resolution of the conflict when Adebanjo
clocked 80. Tinubu, Akande, Osoba and Adebayo were planning to storm
the ceremony in a big fashion, preparatory to another round of reconciliation, when their attention were drawn to inflammatory media interviews
by the celebrator lambasting them for the decline of Afenifere. They instantly returned the heat. A media war broke out, with the Fasanmi faction
vowing never to have anything to do with Fasoranti group again.
Recently, Fasoranti’s faction paid a solidarity visit to Daniel, who is standing trial in court for corrupt charges. The former governor is said to be the
financial backbone of the group. The action was infuriating to Adegbonmire,
who is now a leader of ACN in Ondo State. He said the visit was in bad faith,
stressing that it was ill-timed. Now, activities of the faction are reduced to
issuing occasional press release on national issues. Unlike it, there is complete lull in Fasanmi’s group.
An obstacle to peace is the political composition of Afenifere. In 2008,
Fasoranti declared: “We have now
decided to throw the membership
of Afenifere open to all Yoruba people above 18 years, regardless of
present party affiliations, provided
they accept the Afenifere credo of
making the welfare of the individual
citizen the main purpose of government”. Many picked hole in this new
approach. At issue is whether ACN
and PDP members can cohabit
peacefully under the umbrella of
Afenifere.
Is reconciliation still possible in the
fold? Adegbonmire said the door is
not closed. “It should be possible for
us to come together again. we subscribe to the same ideology and affection for Yoruba. There is no serious Yoruba man who is happy with
•Fasanmi
the present situation”, he said.

APPEAL

CAPACITY

CARE

The disabled
seek antidiscrimination
commission

NGO empowers
artisans

Lawmaker
offsets
patient’s
medical bill

Lagos

29

Lagos

MONDAY DECEMBER 12, 2011

35

Ondo

38

Page 27

Email: news_extra@yahoo.com

T

HE construction of a female
orthopaedic ward at St
Gerard Catholic Hospital,
Kaduna has lifted the spirits of
the authorities. The hospital has
been playing a crucial role in enhancing the well-being of
Kaduna residents as well as those
from outside the city. Many
emergency cases are referred to
it and doctors there have lived
up to expectations.
But it had a number of challenges. For instance, all the female patients were kept in one
general ward, no matter their
ailments. Accident victims were
kept there too. The situation was
uncomfortable for not only the
patients but also the medical staff
and administrators.
The new orthopaedic ward has
helped in dealing with that problem. Overcrowding is reduced
and everyone is relieved. The
ward was built by Heineken Africa Foundation in collaboration
with Nigeria Breweries Plc.
The ward, according to the Rev.
Sister Theresa Dung, the hospital administrator, is one of the
several contributions of the company
to
the
hospital’s
infrastructural development.
Since the relocation of Ahmadu
Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) to its permanent
site in Shika, Zaria, St Gerard
Catholic Hospital has increased
has been receiving more patients, necessitating the provision of more facilities.
Brewery Manager of Nigeria
Breweries Plc Kaduna, Peter Ani
who led other colleagues to the
commissioning, said the project
is special because it was initiated
and executed in conjunction with
Heineken Africa Foundation
(HAF). The foundation, he added,
was “established by our parent
company-Heineken NV to support and enhance the health of
people who live in sub-Sahara
Africa. The foundation was established with the objective of financially supporting relevant health
projects and health-related education.
“In line with our corporate social responsibility initiatives, we

maintain strategic plans for assisting communities within our area
of operation. By providing this
laudable health care project which

is vital to the community, we seek
to elevate the quality of life of the
good people of Kaduna State in particular and Nigeria in general”.
He noted that the ward was built
in response to the challenges of St

Gerard’s, a hospital which has excelled in handling emergency cases.
“As a responsible corporate organisation, we are constantly and
willfully obliged in complementing governments’ and community

efforts by assisting the populace
through provision of social services to our country at large and
to the good people of Kaduna
State. In recognition of the strategic role that this great hospital
•Continued on Page 28

Fayemi urges communities to access development funds

E

•Fayemi

KITI State Governor Kayode
Fayemi has urged the people at the grassroots to access funds at the state Community and Social Development
Agency (EKSCSDA).
The governor spoke in Ijero, a
Town Hall/Village Square meeting initiated to avail the government of firsthand information on
the needs of grassroots communities. Such information, the state
said, is crucial in the preparation
of next year’s budget.
The people’s requests ranged
from link and feeder road, classrooms to culverts and bridges, all

From Sulaiman Salawudeen,
Ado-Ekiti

of which Fayemi said could be accommodated by EKSCSDA with
little contribution from the communities.
Fayemi said: “I like to inform
you that some of the projects you
have mentioned can be executed
through EKSCSDA. All you need
to do is provide 10 per cent of the
entire project sum and EKSCSDA
will provide the balance of 90 per
cent.
He noted that the state government assisted by the World Bank,

has been attacking poverty in the
communities through ‘Community Driven Development (CDD)’
projects once the communities
pay 10 per cent of the cost.
Meanwhile, the state chair of
EKSCSDA,
Chief
Ibidapo
Awojolu has disclosed that it has
continued to create awareness
regarding its existence and how
communities can access its funds.
In a resent three-day training
programme for stakeholders including the Community Project
Management Committee in 17
communities, Awojolu said
“…proper, efficient and effective

project management rest
squarely on lucid and robust
training of the CPMC and other
sub-committees”.
The training was, among
other targets, meant “to ensure
efficiency and effectiveness in
project delivery and equip participants in he implementation
process with necessary skills,
knowledge, tools and commitment to do work”, Chief
Awojolu said.
He was optimistic that if the
training was given needed at•Continued on Page 28

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

28

Market leaders hail council chief
By Yetunde Balogun

•Chief Chijioke

L

EADERS and members of
Shobatex International Modern Market have praised the
chairman of Oto-Awori Local
Council Development Area, Lagos,
Mr. Bolaji Kayode Robert, for providing basic amenities and infrastructure in the area.
Chief Stanley Chijioke, President-General of the association,
hailed the council chief during a

stakeholders’ meeting, a forum at
which market men and women
evaluate their business and seek
solutions to their challenges.
Chijioke said Robert’s administration has touched virtually all
aspects of societal needs ranging
from education, water, health, poverty alleviation, and youth development.
He said, “Although the status of
the council is not yet what we crave
for from the Federal Government,
we have seen what Oto-Awori
LCDA has done that several local
governments in the country have
not done. If schools, primary
health centres and water can be
provided, what is stopping them
from being listed as part of the existing councils? In case the Federal
Government does not know, the
rehabilitation of Iyana-Era and
Cele Bus/Stop on Lagos– Badagry
Expressway, an international route
linking Benin Republic was done
by this LCDA; this is a plus for
them. The persistent traffic jams at
these spots have become a thing of
the past despite financial con-

straints”.
He said the LCDA is proactive
and steadfastness in its policies and
programmes, inspiring residents
of the area to support the Robert
administration.
The market chief challenged the
Federal Government to borrow a
leaf from Otor-Awori.
“If nothing is being done to build
infrastructure, boost trade and in-

We have seen
what Oto-Awori
LCDA has done
that several local
governments in
the country have
not done. It has
provided schools,
primary health
centres, roads
and water

vestment, improve education and
human development, improve
power generation, that means we
will continue to carry an overflow
of burdens, but all these, the LCDA
has been able to do in their own
little way,” the market chief said.
Chijioke said gone are the days
when leaders fed the people with
words, adding that these are days

of action.
He congratulated the chairman
on his re-election and prayed that
his efforts and determination to
raise the standard and develop the
council area will yield more fruits.
Shobatex market is known across
Lagos State for the sale of Italian
shoes, bags, textiles and allied
products.

tention by participants, it would
make a developmental turnaround in the fortunes of rural
dwellers.
“The vision and mission of
Governor Kayode Fayemi is to
alleviate poverty in Ekiti and
recue Ekiti people from economic
strangulation. One of the major
outposts of the successful realisation of the objective is the
timely intervention scheme of
The World Bank in active collaboration with the State Govern-

ment.
“Expectedly, it has brought
about a harvest of about 135 micro-projects throughout Ekiti
State o be commissioned very
soon. Before the end of the year,
more projects will be commissioned that will open a floodgate
of social and economic development of our people.
Chief Awojolu said: “Let me
hope that at the end of the exercise, we shall be well equipped
to the knowledge acquired in the
classroom to implement our micro-projects to specifications”,
Chief Awojolu said.

Foundation
boosts
women’s health
•Continued from Page 27
has played in its quest and passion
for saving of lives, our company
has decided to lend her support. In
February this year, we donated a
mini-theatre equipment to assist
your hospital. During the ceremony, my predecessor then,
made a promise to further assist
the hospital especially in the area
of giving prompt attention to accident victims who require immediate surgery for their survival. It
is my pleasure that the promise
made to you earlier this year is
being fulfilled today by the construction and furnishing of a female orthopaedic ward, which we
have all gathered here today to
commission to the glory of God. It
is our conviction that the hospital
management will put to good use,
this facility to further enhance the
hospital’s operations in attending
to more and more accident victims
who are brought here on daily basis and thereby saving more lives”.
The Archbishop of Kaduna Diocese Bishop Matthew Ndagoso inaugurated the new facility.
In addition to the ward and other
contributions to the hospital, the
brewery giant has also earmarked
about N33 million to purchase an
ultra-sound scanning equipment
for St Gerard’s.
Newsextra investigations revealed that the company has also
trained traditional birth attendants
at the Hajia Gambo Sawaba General Hospital as part of its efforts
in reducing cases of Vesico-Vaginal Fistula (VVF) in the area. Before the training, the company
commissioned a fully equipped

•Traditional birth attendants trained by the foundation and Nigeria Breweries at the VVF centre in Zaria
VVF ward and is currently sponsoring two medical doctors on a
specialisation course in Holland.
After the two-year training, the
two doctors are expected to return
to the country and to their work
with the Kaduna State government.
Before leaving for Holland in 2010,
the two doctors signed an undertaking to return to their employment with the state government.
Specifically, they are expected to
boost the medical team on VVF at
the Hajia Gambo Sawaba Hospital. At an elaborate ceremony in
Zaria, the management of the com-

Majority of women who
develop fistulas become isolated
and neglected. Kaduna is one
of the two states in the North
with facilities to treat VVF

pany presented kiths to the 40 traditional birth attendants trained
under the second phase of the programme. Ani said on the occasion
that the presentation of the equipment marked the second phase of
the project which was conceived in
2010, with the construction and furnishing of VVF ward, adding that
the third phase of the project,
which is still ongoing, is the training of in-house surgeons for
sustainability of VVF treatment.
Ani, the breweries chief noted
that “globally, about 2m women
suffer from VVF, out of which between 80 to 90 per cent are in Africa. More and more women are
developing VVF as a result of complications during childbirth especially young mothers and those
not attended to by qualified midwives or well trained TBAs who
are the first point of obstetric care
in our local communities. Majority of women who develop fistulas become isolated and neglected
because of their inability to live
normal marital lives. Kaduna is
one of the two states in the North
with facilities to treat VVF and we

are pleased to be supporting the
government’s efforts in this regard, not just with the donation of
a 10-bed ward, but also embarking on the training of personnel
towards eradication of VVF in the
state. We support the training of
traditional birth attendants since
they are naturally first point of care
in our rural communities. The
training has further prepared
them to know their limitations
while providing care to women in
their rural communities with limited access to the hospital care, thus

nipping in the bud the development of new cases of VVF due to
poor obstetrics care. Huge resources have been committed to
these trainings by Heineken Africa Foundation and Nigerian
Breweries Plc. As an organisation
committed to winning with Nigeria, we seek to complement the
development efforts of the government through intervention in
strategic sectors across the country. This project is yet another
demonstration of our commitment to this philosophy”.

THE NATION

29

MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

The disabled seek commission

A

N enterprising but hearing-impaired man, Ojo Makinde has
urged the Federal Government to
evolve policies that are friendly to persons
with disability.
Makinde, who operates a fish farm, also
wants a commission created to tackle
discriminations against people with disability.
Though his hearing is impaired,
Makinde is a successful fish farmer. At a
press briefing, he reacted to various acts
of discrimination suffered by disabled
persons. He recalled how difficult it was
for him to obtain a loan from a bank chiefly
because of his disability.
“Despite the fact that I owned a bungalow and a landed property in Osogbo, the
capital of Osun State, it was difficult for
me to obtain bank loan,” he said.
“Apart from ability to meet the collateral
demands by the banks, my personality as
a disabled person prevented me from enjoying access to loan facility. Yet I want to
expand my business and it has been very
tough.”
Makinde lamented how the system has
become difficult for disabled people to get
jobs. Instead, they are confronted with a
legacy of unequal education, job reservation, favouristism, nepotism and all kinds
of discriminations.
He further explained that one of the factors militating against the aspiration of
persons with disability in business is that
people still doubt their ability. Moreover,
any society that frowns at begging must
not frustrate the budding entrepreneur
among the disabled.
Quoting John F. Kenedy who said, “Ask
not what your country can do for you,
rather ask what you can do for your country”, he said that such can only be possible where the environment is conducive.
Makinde reminded the federal government of how it failed to sign into law the
Disability Bill which has been passed by
many states. He therefore requested the
FORMER Minister of Education, Dr. Olaiya Oni, has
urged Southwest governors to return to regionalism for
rapid economic, social and political development.
Oni said if the governors adopt
this system, the Federal Government would listen to the yearnings
of the people in the region.
The ex-minister spoke at a lecture organised in Akure, the Ondo
State capital, by the Faculty of Art,
Obafemi Awolowo University
(OAU), Ile-Ife in Osun State to
mark the 50th anniversary of the
institution.

A

By Olalekan Yusuf

federal government to urgently assent to
the bill.
Makinde appealed for representation
and participation of person with disability to be included in every policy framework in the country.
“That is why we are in full support of
government creating a commission for
Disability Affairs or Ministry to handle
the affairs of disabled people.”
The fish farmer noted that Nigeria being the ‘giant of Africa’, the living condition and lives of disabled persons should
also reflect in the country’s potentials.
He therefore urged the government to do
everything possible to eliminate
discriminations against person with disability and promote their full integration
into the society.

Despite the fact
that I owned a
bungalow and a
landed property
in Osogbo, the
capital of Osun
State, it was
difficult for
me to obtain
bank loan
• Makinde at his fish farm

Go back to regionalism, ex-minister urges
Southwest governors

From Leke Akeredolu,
Akure

He described the late Chief
Obafemi Awolowo as the greatest
Yoruba man after Oduduwa.
The lecture was entitled “The
Challenges of Excellence in the
Socio-economic and Political Development of Nigeria.”
Oni who was also the Ondo
State Chairman of Labour Party
(LP) and and an alumnus of the

institution.
He said the regional system
adopted by Awolowo brought
about rapid developments in the
Southwest.
He said: “When Chief Awolowo
and his lieutenants established
the Action Group (AG), the cornerstone of their political philosophy
of Democratic Socialism was built

•A senior official in the Urban Development Department, Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and
Urban Development, Mrs Jelilat Abdulhamid, explaining some exhibits to Secretary to the Government, Mrs
Idiat Adebule (second right) and the ministry’s commissioner, Mr Toyin Ayinde during the last World Habitat
Day organised by the ministry at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja. With is Adeniji Adekunle (in cap).

on the four cardinal programmes
of free primary education, free
health service for age 0-18, integrated rural development and full
employment.
“It was also their political philosophy that brought about the establishment of OAU in 1962. The
Afenifere philosophy that
emerged there has remained the
hallmark of progressivism in Nigeria politics till today. The former
President Olusegun Obasanjo
who ruled this nation for eight
years, despite the fact is a Yoruba
man, the region was totally neglected.
“I believe and I think it will not
be out of place to state at this stage
that the Yoruba nation was the
most fertile land in our country at
that time to so sow the seed of progressivism not only because they
have been exposed to western education and its attendant, socialeconomic and political development ahead of others region.
Oni stressed that it was the philosophy applied by the Awolowo

to develop the western region that
prompted the late Nnamdi
Azikiwe to develop the educational institutions in the eastern
region.
“As for economic crops-cocoa,
palm produce, cashew, coffee, rubber and timber which are major
cash crops in the western region
were used judiciously to develop
the region. Awolowo established
a research and training agricultural farm in Akure but this is not
functioning again,”the former LP
chairman noted.
He commended the former Lagos State governor Asiwaju
Ahmed Tinubu for his role in ensuring the Southwest returns to the
Awolowo philosophy.
Also speaking, former Special
Adviser to Ondo State Governor
on Special Duties, Hon. Saka
Lawal said students have a major
role to play to re-brand the nation
and revive the Awo philosophy.
Lawal who accompanied Oni to
the occasion with executives of
Sunshine Liberation Forum (SLF)
noted that the country is presently
sitting on a time bomb especially
given the federal government’s
plan to remove the oil subsidy.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

30

Ajimobi woos Indonesian investors

EU partners Ekiti on water
supply
T

•Governor Fayemi

HE European Union has expressed
its readiness to partner with the
Ekiti State government in a bid to
achieve its target of improving the supply of
potable water to 80 percent within four years.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the
governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the team
leader of the EU Water Supply and Sanitation
Sector Reform Programme III, Mr. Daniel
Cricks, said his team was in the state to get a
formulation report on the water sanitation
project being embarked upon.
Cricks lamented that water supply in
Nigeria was only five percent yet the
population was fast growing without potable
water provision.
The EU chief added that the commitment
of the international body to Ekiti State was
to help improve the quality of water
distribution and sanitation, even as the

Parents urged to show commitment
to children’s education

P

ARENTS and guardians have been urged
to show more commitment to the welfare
and education of their children.
This advice was given by the wife of the
Chairman, Remo North Local Government,
Mrs. Kehinde Adeleye while addressing a
monthly meeting of women groups at the
council secretariat.
A press statement signed by the council’s
Director of Information, Mr. Oloyede
Oyeniyi, quoted the wife of the chairman as
saying that” no nation can develop or sustain
its development without meaningful
investment in the development of her
youths”. She added that children are the most
precious asset of any nation and so they
should be well taken care of but should not
be over-pampered by their parents.
Mrs. Adeleye appealed to women as
builders of the nation to complement the
efforts of their husbands by supporting them
in their socio-political and economic
endeavours for their own benefit and that of

Ogun
their children.
She urged women in the council area to see
themselves as partners in progress with their
husbands, calling on women to be totally
submissive to their husbands as failure to do
this would always result in broken homes.
Commenting on the desirability of the
women Advancement Forum, as it affects
them, she said that the programme, an
initiative of the Senator Ibikunle Amosunled administration seeks to make women
functional, self-reliant and well-integrated
members of the society.
Mrs. Adeleye also praised the wife of the
governor, Mrs. Olunfunsho Amosun, for her
humanitarian gestures and for positively
touching the lives of the needy and senior
citizens in Ogun State.

A

Ekiti

Fayemi-led administration was taking
steps to improve water supply in the state.
Cricks explained that the EU team had
since been inspecting all water facilities
across the state with a view to analysing
the water situations, after which a
stakeholders’ workshop would be
organised to sensitise the public on water
sanitation.
Replying, Governor Fayemi disclosed
that his administration was putting in
place a master plan on water distribution
in the state, adding that adequate supply
of potable water would help curb the
spread of water-borne diseases.
Fayemi said water supply has improved
from 20 percent to 45 percent since the
inception of his administration in October
last year; stressing that the target of his
administration was to hit 80 percent
before 2014.
He added that though some of the water
projects embarked upon by his
administration have not been completed,
it was inevitable that government make
use of boreholes and water plants as
temporary measures to address the
immediate water need of the people
during this dry season.

• Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State (second right), Mrs Evelyn Oputu, Managing Director,
Bank of Industry (BOI) (left), Mr. Ladi Delano, CEO Bakrie Group of Indonesia, and Kenneth
Farrell, CEO Bomi Resources Minerals of the Bakrie Group (right), when the BOI and Bakrie
group paid a courtesy call on the governor

NGO empowers artisans

I

NDIGENT artisans in Ojokoro Local Council
Development Area of Lagos State received a
boost recently as a Non-Governmental
Organisation, The Change Agent, distributed to
them, work tools worth N2 million.
The Change Agent, whose coordinator, Hon.
Dipo Okeyomi, popularly known as ‘Carry Go’

Osun, firm collaborate on youth
empowerment
T
HE Osun State government, in
partnership with the Chams Plc., has
launched another youth empowerment
initiative tagged OYES Sustainable
Employment Scheme.
With the launch , Governor Rauf Aregbesola
will create employment for 5,000 youths by
deploying 5,000 Chams Point of Transaction
(POT) terminals to beneficiaries.
The Chams POT terminals is a hand-held
device that will be configured to provide
various businesses for OYES graduates which
will allow them vend GSM vouchers, cable
TV subscription as well as electricity bills.
Aregbesola, at the launch, noted that the
birth of OSES which is an adjunct of the OYES
is a giant step in job creation which will have
a positive effect on the economy of the state.
The governor, who praised Chams Plc for
setting up the POT terminals,advised
beneficiaries of the scheme to see the
opportunity the state government and Chams
have provided for them as chance to be self
employed and employers of labour.

Osun

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

Aregbesola said: “This is a major
breakthrough in our job creation drive, we
are not just creating employment, but we are
out to make every beneficiary an employer
of labour. This is a scheme that will guarantee
you a minimum income of N40,000 when the
POT terminals are used for the sales of
airtime voucher pins, mobile payment and
other IT enabled services.”
The governor, however, used the occasion
to intimate Osun indigenes of the state of
Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) which
his administration moved from N300million
to N600million by blocking loop-holes in
tax administration without increasing taxes
in the state.

• From left: Hon. Dipo Okeyomi, co-ordinator, The Change Agent; Oba Rilwan Oluwalambe
of Ojokoroland and Okeyomi’s wife, Folukemi, at the distribution of work tools to indigent
artisans in Amje, Ojokoro LCDA, Lagos

Council inaugurates advisory committee

T

HE
Ifelodun Local Council
Development Area,Lagos State has
inaugurated an advisory committee
to assist the chairman in moving the council
forward. The committee is made up of the
following members:
Alhaji Muda Kuti - LGA Party Chairman;
Hon. Shuaib Fatai O. Ajidagba- Executive
Chairman, Ifelodun LCDA
Hon Taiwo Oyewole Adenekan - Member
Fed House of Rep Ajeromi Ifelodun
Constituency; Hon. Kolawole Taiwo (HKT)
- Deputy Speaker Lagos State House of
Assembly; Hon. Seugn Ogunbanjo - Former
Member Fed House of Rep, Ajeromi Ifelodun
Constituency;
Dr. Abiola Ajijola - 1st Executive Chairman
Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Govt.;
Hon. A Giwa - Former Executive Secretary
Badagry Local Government; Alhaji S. A.
Emiola - Former Local Education District
(L.E.D) Secretary, Ojo Local Govt; Chief Remi
Williams
- CAN
Party
Leader; Alhaji M. O. Fisabi -CAN Stalwart

HE week-long convention of the
Christ Apostolic Mission Church
(Oke Igbala) began yesterday and
will end on December 18
This year’s convention is a unique one
and the theme of the convention – Love him
and let him go, signifies the determination
of the Body of Christ called C.A.M.C. to
pray fervently to God Almighty for
physical and spiritual freedom, divine
prosperity and of-course, divine
breakthrough in all ramifications for
members of the Church in particular, and
the generality of Nigerians.

35

A statement released by the Publicity SubCommittee of the Convention Committee of the
Mission revealed that activities for this year’s
anniversary will feature lectures, workshops, and
seminars by distinguished servants of God. Also,
the Music Night featuring fchoir representatives
from over 70 parishes of our mission shall hold
between 6pm and midnight on Friday December
16. Similarly, the invited guest artistes in persons
of Evang. Ojo Ade, Bro. George Audu (the
saxophonist) and Sister Busayo Makinde will
grace the occasion on Wednesday December 14,
December16
and
Sunday,December18
respectively.

Lagos
is also a chieftain of the Action Congress of
Nigeria (ACN), distributed work tools such as
head driers, sewing machines and, handsets,
tables and umbrellas for telephone business
centres. Chairs and tables were also given out
to seven wards and the green zones of the
council area for village meetings and afternoon
relaxation, after recreation.
Speaking on the occasion, Ojoro’s paramount
ruler, Oba Rilwan Oluwalambe of Ijokoland
commended the gesture, saying well-to-do
residents of the area ought to save the youths
from the pang of hunger.
Oba Oluwalambe said that with the
economic situation in the country and the fact
that the country has a huge population
government at all levels alone could not
shoulder the responsibility of assisting the lessprivileged.
“As things are, individuals and corporate
bodies have to team up and rehabilitate these
jobless youths, so that they don’t take to crime
in a bid to feed,” the royal father counselled.
Speaking at the event which was held in
Amje, a community in the area,Okeyomi said,
“I have discovered that many of them have
professions and trades but do not have the
tools or capital to start off; and as they say,
‘teach me how to fish instead of giving me
fish’,” he explained.
Besides, Okeyomi said the occasion was
dedicated to mark the first anniversary of the
administration of Osun State governor, Alhaji
Rauf Aregbesola “who is my mentor and who
built me up to this level of having to give to
others.”
According to Okeyomi, in no time, the group
would embark on sinking boreholes in each
ward of the LCDA. The NGO, he informed, is
not only consigned to Ojokoro as it has spread
to other states in the country and that it is
beginning to go global with members planting
the vision in Ghana and South Africa.

Briefly

Corona Girls Guide
visits orphanage
THE Girls Guide pupils of Corona
Secondary School, Agbara Ogun State,
recently paid a visit to the Akowonjo arm
of the of the All Saints Orphanage. They
were welcomed by Mrs Bose Ogunbanjo,
the administrator of the chapter
The girls interacted with Mrs Ogunbanjo
on how the orphanage had weathered the
storm nearly two decades ago.
Mrs Ogunbajo told them how the
orphanage established in 1994 by Rev Mrs
Dele George, now runs three locations
Ogudu, Ikeja GRA, and Akowonjo
respectively. Among other things, she said
the founder had a passion to reignite hope
for abandoned and abused children to give
them a better tomorrow.
As the pupils took a group photograph
with some of the orphanages mostly
toddlesr, the Girls Guide Coordinator, Mrs
Joy Okechukwu, said the trip was anchored
on helping the society which, according to
her, is a strong factor behind Girls Guide.

group of Indonesian investors has
indicated interest in working with
the Oyo State government in
agriculture and mining.
The investors from the Bakrie Group,
led by an Indonesian-based Nigerian,
Mr. Ladi Delano, were on a working
visit to Oyo State to see the areas of
cooperation with the state government
in enhancing the socio-economic
development of the state.
Delano, who spoke on behalf of his
group , described the state as an
investors’ destination of choice, with
a lot of potentials.
According to him, his organisation,
which he said was the largest in
Indonesia, was into rubber and palm
oil plantation, mining, oil and gas and
steel production, adding that it would
invest about $1 billion in Nigeria in
the next five years.
“We have seen a lot of investment
opportunities in Oyo State and we are
here to partner with the government.
We want to be partners with the
government in the development of the
economy of this state,’’ Delano said.
He praised Governor Ajimobi for his

Oyo
leadership style and for his passion for
the growth and development of the state,
which he said, had attracted his
organisation to the state.
Replying, Governor Ajimobi expressed
regret that the state, which used to be a
pace setter, had deteriorated and had thus
lost the status.
He,
however,
expressed
his
administration’s determination to bring
the state back to its pace setting status

through its repositioning, reformation
and transformation agenda.
The governor said that already, there
was a 9,000 hectares of land yearning to
be cultivated, while about 5,000 youths
would be involved in the farm settlement
project of the state government.
On property development, Sen.
Ajimobi, who expressed surprise that
the state could not boast of any five-star
hotel, said that his government was also
looking into the possibility of building
one, with facilities such as shopping
malls and a recreation centre.

Ondo promotes 1,381 workers

O

NDO State government has rolled
out a promotion package to not
fewer than 1351 workers in its civil
service following their success in the 2011
promotion examination
Besides, the State Civil Service
Commission has landed the disciplinary
axe on 131 others for running foul of the
civil service rules and regulations
The affected workers from grade level
seven and seventeen have started receiving

•From left: Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Prince Segun Adesegun, retiring Head of Service, Princess Iyabo Odulate, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, his wife, Olufunso, the Speaker of
the State House of Assembly, Hon. Suraj Adekunmbi and the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, a lawyer at the sent forth of Princess Odulate

Ondo
From Damisi Ojo,Akure

their promotion letters.
The Chairman of the State Civil Service
Commission, Mr Dare Adebiyim
described the jumbo promotion as a
further testimony to the caring heart
posture of the Dr Olusegun Mimiko
administration to the career advancement
of civil servants.
According to him, “no doubt the
exercise has its own financial
implications, however the promotion will
not draw down our purse, you all know
the uncommon commitment of the
present government to the welfare of its
work force. The cost implication is such
that can still be absorbed within the wage
bill of the state civil service”
Adebiyi admonished the newlypromoted officers to continue to
diligently do their jobs and be loyal to
the government that has been caring for
their career through various welfare
packages.
“There are some states where
promotions are not being carried out, but
ours is not like that because the
government will never shy away from its
mandatory responsibility of delivering
the dividends of democracy to the
electorate, the civil servants inclusive”
the Chairman added
He disclosed that Commission’s zerotolerance for acts of indiscipline led to
the termination of the appointment of five
officers, 126 compulsorily retired and
49 reprimanded for various offences such
as fraud, forgery and gross misconduct.

Praises as foundation helps the needy

A

S a way of giving back to the society,
the
Mike
Igbokwe
(SAN)
Foundation recently visited five
different homes across Lagos where food
items were given out to ease the burdens of
the needy.
The foundation gave out various food
items including rice, maggi, salt and
vegetable oil worth several thousands of
naira to five different homes - the
Motherless Babies Home, Lekki, Old
People’s Home, Yaba, Little Saints

Lagos
By Dada Aladelokun

Orphanage, Palmgrove, Pacelli School for the
Blind and Partially Sighted and Hearts of Gold
Children’s Hospice, Surulere.
Mike Igbokwe (SAN), the legal luminary
behind the project, founded it two years ago,
when he became a successful lawyer with
practice spanning over two decades, with bigleague clients.

• From left: Board member Mr. Joseph Okoroafor; Igbokwe, Mrs. Adelaja-Adedoyin and
Secretary to the Foundation, Mr. Dennis Johnson when the foundation donated some food
items to the home

Igbokwe’s inspiration to be his brother’s
keeper, NewsExtra learnt, dates back to 1989
while serving in the Benevolence Department
of the Household of God, headed by Pastor
Chris Okotie, where his team provided food,
homes and clothing for the needy. He was
later was appointed the head of the
department in 1998.
“I felt that if individuals could volunteer to
take care of the less-privileged, we should
support them. The future of these children is
very bright. Mike Igbokwe SAN Foundation
was set up to support the poor in the society.
Launched when I turned 50, we realised that
government could not do it alone. This is the
time to show love and care now that we are
celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. This is
significant in the spirit of Christmas. It is our
token of love for the inmates of these homes,”
Igbokwe explained the gesture.
He added: “We should all commend the
efforts of the heads of these homes. The work
they are doing is fantastic. It is a selfless service
which is unquantifiable in terms of cash and
sacrifice. It takes patience, love, dedication,
sacrifice and commitment to get involved in
humanitarian service. I pray that God will
reward them.”
Sister Dorcas Unigle of the Pacelli School
for the Blind and Partially Sighted
commended Igbokwe: “This effort is
commendable because it is rare for people to
wake up one day and decide to give food items
to the needy in the society. The school is free
and relies solely on private and individual
donor. It is from donation from spirited
individual like this that we use to take care of
the inmates. We pray that God will continue
to reward you abundantly.”

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

CITYBEATS
THE NATION

E-mail:- ynotcitybeats@gmail.com

31

Behold! A world
class mall for Ikeja

•The Ikeja City Mall

I

T is a building which cannot
be missed on the way to the
Lagos State Secretariat,
Alausa, Ikeja.
The Ikeja City Mall, which
will house the popular
supermarket, Shoprite and
Silverbird Galleria, among
others, will be opened on
Wednesday.
The multi-billion naira mall
was developed by Actis,
Paragon Holdings and RMBIA.
The companies have a 60:20:20
shareholding in the project.
The mall occupies about
28,500 square metres. It consists
of 118 shops,
cinema,
restaurants and other retail
outlets.
The mall, initially planned to
begin operation last month, has
been generating public interest.
Traffic has increased around the
mall since it was learnt that it
would be opened before
Christmas.
Efforts are being made to
ensure that the project is
completed on schedule for its
opening on Wednesday.
The project is said to have
been financed with a $48.6
million loan secured from
Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc and
Standard Bank of South Africa.
The complex has various shop
sizes, comprising 15, 50, 60, and
100 square metres and other

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

A structural masterpiece that will house Shoprite, among
other world-class retail shops and restaurants, will open
for business at Alausa on Wednesday, MIRIAM
NDIKANWU reports.
customised ones for special needs.
Apart from the facility
management office, which is
accessible to shoppers, traders
and customers, the market is
strategically located behind the
premises of the Lagos State Fire
Service.
Other unique features that
stand it out are: a truck loading
and off-loading facility; a rapid
response security service; a
water/sewage treatment plant;
ample parking space with
capacity for at least 250 cars,
CCTV cameras; 500 KVA
generator; high performance
(HP) transformers; cleaning
services;
gardening;
landscaping and other top-notch
facility management services.”
Actis Director for Real Estate
Michael Ejekam said he expects
the mall "to become a hub for
visitors from across Africa and
beyond."
Ejekam said the decision to site
the mall in Alausa was

informed by customers’ interest
in similar facilities elsewhere.
He said the location would not
jeopardise the chaotic traffic in
Ikeja as most users of the
facility would be those working
in the area.
Ejekam said Actis would
partner with the Lagos State
Traffic Management Authority
(LASTMA) to check traffic
congestion.
"The mall is expected to feature
the first and only cinema
theatre in the Ikeja suburb,
offering a four-screen Silverbird
Cinema
and
Shoprite
Supermarket, including special
facilities for department stores,
banks, cafes, bars, restaurants,
hairdressing and beauty salons,
among others."
A resident, Angel Abraham,
who spoke about the project,
said: "I am excited about the
shopping mall and can't wait for
it to begin operation. Each time
I drive through Alausa, I’m

LIRS takes tax message to the streets Aspirant rallies support for
council boss
THE Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) has
appealed for more voluntary payments of taxes.
The agency made the plea at an enlightenment walk
round the Ikeja metropolis.
An official, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity, said the move was part of the strategies to
drum support for tax payment.
The official urged the people to pay their taxes to
enable the government provide for them.
He said: “We all want to enjoy great public services:
well laid out roads, efficient health care delivery, free
drugs, free education, and great schools. All these
requires huge financial commitments and only
regular payment of our taxes would make the
realisation of these services possible.”

A former chairmanship aspirant in Ayobo-Ipaja
Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Otunba
Ladi Oluwaloni, has urged residents to support the
chairman, Alhaji Shakiru Yusuf to transform the
area.
Speaking with CityBeats, Oluwaloni said:" The
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) remains the
only viable alternative for good governance in
Nigeria, hence, I want to enjoin residents of the
council area to work in concert with the newly
inaugurated administration to provide basic
amenities and massive infrastructural
development of the community."

impressed at the pace of work
and the commitment of the
contractors to ensure that the
project is delivered before the
end of this year."
She described the location as a
blessing,
particularly
to
residents of Ikeja and its
environs as it would save them
the trouble of going through
the chaotic traffic on the island
to do their shopping.
"Judging from the pace of work
on the project, it is hoped that
it will commence operation
during the Yuletide."
She said the mall improve the
economic viability of the state
as more people would be
employed to work in the
various outlets.
Another resident, Mr Taiwo
Olapade, described the project as
a round peg in a round hole. "This
is not the first mall in the state
but, from all indication, it
appears to be one of the biggest
so far, with appealing aesthetics

that one cannot ignore, whenever
you pass through the area.
"I am expecting operations to
start soon, because I love the
serenity of the environment and
the fact that it will also
decongest the influx of people
to similar shopping malls across
the state and reduce the travel
time to those other outlets.
"Apart from the fact that it is
close to my office and I can easily
walk down there to get the
things I need, I am particularly
looking forward to the bakery
so that I can easily have my
favourite bread. I am a regular
visitor to the Surulere Shopping
Mall because of the bread.
"This is already generating
employment for people in the
construction sector and when it
is completed it will also engage
about 10,000 people who will
work in the various sections."
Mr Kunle Awosiyan said
adding that the location was not
bad as such mall exists in
highbrow areas of developed
cities.
"There is nothing wrong with
having the Ikeja shopping mall
in Alausa, because right in front
of the mall is a traffic light with
traffic officials that will help in
controlling traffic.
"We all love the project and
are waiting for its eventual take
off."

Fed Govt urged to check multiple taxation
THE Federal Government has been asked to check multiple
taxation to assist upcoming entrepreneurs achieve their target and
enhance national growth.
According to Prince Adewale Adeniyi, an industrialist and the
Managing Director of Adekass Technical Services Limited, the
government should address multiple taxation as it is an
impediment to growth.
His words: “I wish to ask that the government, both at the local,
state and federal levels to assist upcoming entrepreneurs in
achieving their aims because they actively assist the government
in achieving its responsibility to the citizenry.”
The issue of multiple taxation also needs to be addressed as this
stands as impediment to our growth.Adekass will continue to try
its best to face the challenges as much as it can.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

32

CITYBEATS

School gets lab, generator

F

ALOMO Senior High
School, Ikoyi, has got a refurbished multi-purpose
science laboratory, courtesy of
Essar Exploration and Production
Ltd (EEPL).
Besides, the company also provided a 13.5kva generator, a
multi-media projector and a
desktop computer unit with a
printer for the school.
The laboratory, which is also
equipped with tables and stools
as well as inverter and other reagents, can seat 60 students.
The Country Head of EEPL, Mr
Gorind Kumar Bhattacharya, said
the gesture is part of "our corporate social responsibility and our
contribution to the advancement
of basic science education in
Nigeria .
"It is important that the equipment and facilities being handed
over today are put to proper use.
We urge the school authorities
to be in contact with the
suppliers so that they can take
full advantage of the one year
warranty
given
for
the
maintenance of the equipment. I
hope that the students will make
full use of these laboratory
equipment and will benefit from
them in pursuit of their educational goals," Bhattacharya said.
Earlier, the representative of

By Oziegbe Okoeki

the state Commissioner for Education, Mrs Wuraola M. Idris,
Tutor-General/Permanent
Secretary, Education District III,
thanked Essar for the project and
for collaborating with "Governor
Raji Fashola's initiative in
turning around the fortunes of
our education system."
She also implored the staff and
students of the school to make
the best and judicious use of the
facilities "so that it will continue
to serve future generations of
students. You must handle the
equipment with utmost care to
prevent unnecessary breakages
and damages", she said.
"I will also recommend this
worthy
example
to
all
responsible
corporate
organisations and individuals to
emulate so that together we are
sure to win this race of giving
our children the highest quality
of education, ", Idris said.
Thanking Essar for the laboratory, the Principal, Mrs Abosede
Adeboye, said the school's old
laboratory was a big concern to
everybody "until God sent Essar
Exploration and Production to the
rescue of our science-oriented students. We are happy and we can't
hide it because we are confident
that with this laboratory our sci-

ence students would be able to improve their performances in the
external examinations and other
competitions they will be participating in", she said.
Also present at the event was a
representative of the Group General Manager of a sub-division

of Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), Iyabode
Ayobami Ojo, who was thankful
that Essar is able to respond to
the needs of the school by providing the laboratory for the use
of the students and towards the
development of science educa-

tion in the school.
The sub-division of NNPC has
a Production Sharing Contract
Agreement with Essar on the
OPL 226 and it encourages
companies to embark on
community
development
projects of this nature, Ojo said.

Physically-challenged children win scholarships

I

N the spirit of the Yuletide, the
Bestspring Children and Youth
Development Foundation has
held musical concert for children
living with disabilities in Lagos
State.
The event, held at Yaba Baptist
Church, was attended by children
from the Save Our Soul (SOS) Village, Isolo; Citadel of Grace Mission, Igando and Modupe Cole Special School, Bariga, among others.
Apart from artistes’ performance,
the children rendered Christmas
carol to the admiration of Senator
Olorunnimbe Mamora and others.
Seven of the orphans, who distinguished themselves, were also
awarded scholarships to further
their school and vocational
trainings.
Among the scholarship beneficiaries are nine-year-old Richard
Bright, a JSS 1 student,
Glory
Phillip, 12-year-old, also in JSS 1,
Kehinde Shina, a six-year-old pupil of Primary 1, and Abigail Kalu,
11-year-old, also in JSS 1.
Others were: Vivian Elvis, an 11year-old Primary One pupil,
Marth Emmanuel, nine year-old
Basic 3 pupil and Toma Unu, a 20year-old physically challenged girl
who has completed her senior secondary education.
Unu, an artist, paints with her
feet because of her disability. She
got a scholarship for further training in painting.
The foundation President, Mrs
Aramide Oikelome, said the event
was organised as part of its contribution to assuaging the myriad of
challenges faced by orphans and
the physically-challenged.
Mrs Oikelome said the seven recipients of the scholarship were
selected because they are orphans
with brilliant academic records or
skills.

"The criteria we used were firstly,
to get children that are orphans,
because there are some children in
the Homes that are not orphans,
they are motherless but they are
not totally orphans. But these ones
we gave scholarships, are orphans
and are academically brilliant.
“We realised home managers
have issues such as school fees payments, sometimes the children are
sent back home because they can't
pay school fees. So, this time, we
want to pay directly to the school.
This would go a long way in plug-

ging leakages,because these homes
really have a lot of needs.
“The scholarship we are offering
these seven orphans takes care of
their school fees, uniforms and
books for one year. If we get more
help, we can extend it to two years
or grant them full scholarship," she
said.
Mrs Oikelome said apart from
organising the event for the orphans, the foundation equally carry
out frequent visits to the homes;
identify their challenges and assist
in addressing them.
"We have a working relationship
with some of the orphanage

homes. We go
Unu
there, and we inspect what they do.
paints
Last year, what we with her
did was the “Hope
feet
Alive Project.” We
went on inspection
to some orphanage homes, with a
view to improving on their situation. Some of them needed amenities. One home needed renovation
of the boys' hostel and another
needed to carry out renovation on
its kitchen. After our tour, we held
a concert like this to raise funds
but what we realised was not
enough.

•Senator Mamora, presenting Unu of Modupe Cole Care Centre with her award. With him left are Dr. & Mrs.
Oikelome; other Board of Trustees members, Mr. Bola Olayinka and Mrs. Modupeola Ayeni at the ceremony

"We had to go to some of our
friends and supporters and they
gave us money. So, we put all
these funds together and we did
the renovation and the children
were overjoyed. In one home they
were fighting over the mattresses
because for a long time they have
been sleeping on the floor.
“For the other home, we gave a
new
kitchen
with
new
equipments, they felt relived, because before then they were cooking with stove and when it rained,
they won't be able to cook again.”
She went on: “So, we believe in
doing practical things, not just
giving them money or foodstuffs.
A lot of Nigerians take foodstuffs
there, drop them and go. But we
want to do some concrete things
that will better the lot of the children and tell them that they are as
important as every other child outside.
“The fact that they were rejected
by their parents doesn't mean they
are rejects, they are still important
and something great can come out
of them, if well taken care of."
Senator Mamora commended the
gesture and stressed the need for
the enforcement of the law that addresses the challenges of the
physically-challenged in the society.
The Head of Citadel of Grace
Mission, Mrs Grace Izile,
commended the foundation for
their gesture.
"Bestspring Foundation has been
a source of joy to us. In fact, being
part of the programme is an opportunity and it's a privilege, I appreciate the programme and, like
I said, they have been a source of
joy to the home since we started a
relationship with them.”

WORKER of OshodiIsolo Local Government Area of Lagos
State, Regina Sawyerr, has
done the council proud.
Sawyerr was picked as the
first runner-up of “The
Project Manager of the Year”
2011Awards, at the International Project Management
Day.
She won the award based
on a picturesque compendium entitled: “Know the
local government - ties for
sustainable development
brochure initiative” and a
pictorial compendium of

By Amidu Arije

developmental
programmes and projects of the
council.
The International Project
Management Day was celebrated by the Project Management Institute (PMI), Lagos State, at the Terra
Kulture, Victoria Island. It
is to recognise project managers
for
their
contributions
to
the
execution of projects.
Sawyerr, a Special Adviser
to the former Chairman of
Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Afeez Ipesa-Balogun,

went home with 'an award
plaque. He also got an all expense paid trip to attend the
2012 Europe, Middle East and
Africa (EMEA) PMI Congress.
Sawyerr thanked IpesaBalogun for giving her the
opportunity to showcase the
council's achievements.
She said the pictorial compendium is an educative and
informative resource that
educates, informs and enlighten members of the community about the local government - responding to the
question 'what do you people really do at the local government?'

T

Fadama floats farmer's ICT
centres

HE National Fadama
Project is set to establish Fadama Information Knowledge Service
(FIKS) centres to enhance
farmers' productivity in rural areas.
Speaking at a parley with
major mobile telecommunication service providers in
Lagos, National Project Coordinator of Fadama III Mr
Tayo Adewunmi said the initiative was borne out of the
need to alleviate farmers’
challenges in the rural areas.
"The wisdom behind this
concept is to help the local
farmers in rural communities. Through this initiative,
we have been able to link up
with them, know their challenges, assess their inputs
and assist them by providing information that will
help them manage their
farm and livestock for a rewarding output," he said.
The Sector Leader, World
Bank Office in Nigeria, Mrs
Shobha Shetty, said:"We
have received a grant to pilot information and communication for local farmers in
Nigeria. What we envisaged
is to use mobile phone to
pilot the programme and

By Kunle Akinrinade

reach the farmers irrespective of their location across
the states of the federation
in order to provide them
with viable, effective and
accessible information that
would help them.
Continuing, she said: "We
have visited India, where a
similar programme has been
used to better the lot of local
farmers and we believe we
can use their modules here
in Nigeria, to develop local
content.
“We are particularly concerned about how the farmers can have access to information on weather, crop and

‘

The wisdom
behind this
concept is to
help the local
farmers
in rural
communities

’

livestock
management
while, a helpline via a toll
free call, would be provided
for them to link up with experts on the telephone. The
Fadama Community Association would also play an
important role in making
this initiative successful."
The Assistant Director,
New Media and Information
Security of the Nigerian
Communication Commission (NCC) Mr Haru
Alhassan, an engineer,
commended the initiative.
He said: "NCC highly welcome the Fadama initiative
geared toward helping the
rural farmers by providing
them with necessary information that would help them
to manage their farms better. A number of telecommunication companies have
installed optical fibre cables
capable of transmitting information across the states
of the federation and this
would no doubt enhance the
performance of this programme. I have no doubt
that this initiative will be
successful and help increase
the productivity of farmers
in far flung rural communities in Nigeria."

EADER of the Lagos
State House of Assembly Hon Ajibayo
Adeyeye has called on
Lagosians to use lawmakers'
constituency offices.
Adeyeye spoke during an
interactive session with
members of the State Accountability and Voice Initiative (SAVI) and Lagos State
Civil Society Partnership
(LACSOP)
held at the
House’s Conference Room.
According to him, lack of
proper use of the constituency
offices by the constituents is
a major challenge facing lawmakers in attending to their
needs.
Adeyeye said if the offices
are properly used lawmakers can easily identify the
problems facing their constituents and address them.
He said: "If there is any frus-

By Oziegbe Okoeki

tration which I have encountered as a politician, it is the
non-participation of the elite
in the democratic dispensation. Some elite do not know
the functions of Executive
and Legislative arms; some
also do not know the difference between State Assembly
and the National Assembly.
"When I was elected into the
Assembly in 2007, I set up a
constituency office where I
employed some staff.
Throughout my first term,
only three letters were sent
to my office, one for a wedding ceremony and the other
two were for financial assistance," he said.
The Acting Clerk, Mr.
Olusegun Abiru, said politicians have not done enough
in terms of publicity as regards the establishment of

constituency of- Even the
fice.
elites do
According to not know
him, "If our poli- how we
ticians embark operate
on
rigorous
campaign on the importance
of constituency offices as they
do during the electioneering
campaign,
constituents
would be willing to meet the
lawmakers there rather than
at the Assembly.
Mr Ayo Adebusoye, a representative of LACSOP,
highlighted some of the
findings of the group, which
indicated that 50 per cent of
the offices said their staff are
trained in constituent - legislative relations, experience
in politics, good human relations, problem-solving
skill and good understanding of the constituency
while 5 per cent do not have
such trained staff.

Community denies encroaching on
OME
alleged school’s land February 6, 1958 and pubtrespassers
have
lished in Gazete No 10 Vol.

S

denied encroaching on
Birch Freeman School,
Mushin, Lagos land.
Speaking on the aegis of
Iyalode Efunroye Tinubu
family and Ewe Agbigbo
community in Idi-Oro,
Mushin, Lagos, they said
they are not trespassers.
They were reacting to Governor Babatunde Fashola's
statement while handing
over a block of 21 classrooms
to the School that the drainage
would require the recovery of
land from squatters.
Fashola, an old boy, issued
a red card to the squatters.
He promised to work with
the Old Boys Association to
reclaim every land that used
to belong to the school.
Briefing reporters, Secretary to Tinubu family, Mr
Tajudeen Tinubu, said there
was no encroachment on the
school land. He alleged that
the school is encroaching on
others’ land and using government apparatus and officials to harass and intimidate
the people without regard
for equity and fairness.
He accused the school of
exceeding its boundary by

By Yinka Aderibigbe

shifting its main gate from
its
original
position,
thereby blocking the road to
Akobi Crescent and creating
untold hardship for the residents.
Tinubu recalled that, originally, Iyalode Efunroye
Tinubu, was the titular customary owner under native
law and customs of Ewe
Agbigbo Farm land within
which the school land fell in
1834 by grant from the Oloto
chieftancy family as represented by Oloto Baalo
Oriagbaya who was the
sixth Oloto of Oto, Lagos
Mainland.
He recalled that a portion of
Iyalode Efunroye Tinubu family
land was acquired by the Federal
Government of Nigeria for the
purpose of building Birch
Freeman High School in 1958
vide Government Notice No 290
published in the official Gazette
No 10 of February 13, 1958.
According to Tinubu's
family secretary, by the Federal Government acquisition notice No 290 dated

45 page 200 of February 13,
1958; "the school's land
measured 4.841 acres, but
recently the authority of the
school pillars erected since
1958 in daylight from their
original position in an adventurous and expansionist
manner."
He told reporters that the
authority of the school was
deliberately misinforming
Governor Raji Fashola on the
situation of the school land,
that all the structures being
referred to as encroachments
were all outside the
demarcating boundaries of
Birch Freeman High School
as confirmed by a composite
survey plan jointly prepared
by Lagos State Survey Department as represented by
one surveyor, Mrs A.A.A.
Tejuosho and Tinubu family's surveyor, R.O.S. Alabi in
April 2009.
Mr Tinubu further added
that the instrucment of acquisition referred to in 1958
was registered at the lands
registry Lagos as No 1 volume 7 by the Chief Land
Officer on 30th day of July,
1958.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

34

CITYBEATS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The landmark judgement has put to further shame, your political adversaries,
who are still licking the wound of humiliation which you inflicted upon them at
the April national polls.”
Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Hon. Garba Datti
Mohammed, in a congratulatory letter to ACN National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, on his recent victory at the CCB Tribunal.

LL is set for the take-off of
collection of toll on the EtiOsa, Lekki-Epe Road from
Sunday.
But the residents are still protesting, despite the Lagos State government’s assurance that their demands have been met.
They are threatening to resist the
toll collection because of the government’s and concessionaire’s seeming
unconcern about their plight.
Director-General of the Public
Private Partnership Office, Ayo
Gbeleyi, said government ordered
the start of the toll collection, after
addressing virtually all the residents’ demands, particularly
around the first toll plaza.
The residents contend the toll announced by the Managing Director of Lekki Concession Company
(LCC), Mr Opuiyo Oforiokuma,
was unfair and did not address
their complaints.
Spokesman of the Eti-Osa Heritage
Group Mr Adewale Sanni, accused
the government of insensitivity, alleging that it is more concerned with

• The toll plaza
By Yinka Aderibigbe

the purported N4 billion debt already incurred by the concessionaire
than the adverse effect of the toll on
the people. He said the enforcement
would be resisted.
A lawyer, Mr Ebun Olu
Adegboruwa, who had sued the
government over the matter, described the purported takeoff as
laughable, wondering why the
government could not wait till the
determination of the suit pending
at the Federal High Court, before
giving the go ahead for the toll
collection.
Speaking with CityBeats on telephone, Adegboruwa said beyond
the legal angle, government is yet
to address the many issues raised
by the stakeholders which led to

the suspension of the take-off last
year.
"As we speak, what the government called an alternative road
was the Oba Yusuf Abiodun Oniru
road, which was a major road inside a private estate. What if this
road is shut against road users by
the estate managers due to the
huge traffic that should be envisaged on that route?"
Gbeleyi, however, insisted that
the government has delivered on
all the promises it made at the
stakeholders’ meeting last year.
He said: “The major agreement
reached by the two parties at the
meeting was the completion of all
the roads meant for upgrading and
the construction of the second alternative road up to the Chevron
junction. We have not only com-

pleted all the off
The
roads and slip
roads along the
road is
first bypass of the
not all
first toll plaza, we
have reached 60 about toll
per cent completion of the second
road construction leading to Chevron, and we have secured the firm
commitment of the concessionaire
that it would be completed before
the end of the year."
Gbeleyi said: “Government is set
to go on the toll collection because
all the alternatives that needed to
be provided up to toll point one,
have been provided and that is
why government is saying that
no toll would be collected at toll
point two, until the concessionaire
delivers on its promise on the alternative roads and the slip roads
there.
He added that: "Right now, anyone who does not want to use the
express road has an option to use
the alternative road which has
been provided and he can return
to the express road around market road area, and continue his
journey without any body trou-

bling him to present his toll pass
at the second toll gate. What we
are saying is that you can completely bypass the Admiralty Circle Plaza, and join the road later
to continue your journey without
anybody molesting you and you
can do this on either side of the
carriage way."
He said the the road is not all
about toll, but value, safety, reduction in travel time, and reduction
in the down time of vehicles. “The
journey to Epe that used to be a
harrowing experience for road users have become more pleasurable and the man-hour gained as
a result of this world class infrastructure provided by this private
concern cannot be quantified," he
added.
Gbeleyi said having committed
its resources to providing a world
class service to the people of the
state, government has no choice
than to provide an enabling environment for the investor to recoup
his investment, adding that the
state government has assured
Lagosians and indeed all road users that it would continue to protect their interest.
He said government would continue to monitor the activities of
the concessionaire to ensure that
he coontinues to deliver world
class service along the corridor.
"We have promised that the people would enjoy world class services on this road and we have no
doubt in the capacity of this
concessionaire to deliver on that
promise," he assured.
On the toll chargeable on the
road, Oforiokuma had explained
that vehicles plying the roads have
been categorised into six categories. He said, for Motorcycles, toll
chargeable is N50, while commercial mini buses would pay N80.
Saloon cars and tricycles would
pay N120; Sports Utility Vehicles
(SUVs), minibuses and pick-up
vans would pay N150; while light
trucks and two-axle buses, would
pay N250. Heavy duty trucks, and
buses with two or more heavy axles would be charged N350.
He advised frequent road users
to go for the electronic mode of
payment called the e-tag and swift
pass, which he said would save
them time and money.

ROMASIDOR
Nigeria
Limited, makers of Cowbell
milk and Choco, has advocated more involvement in sporting activities to promote healthy
living.
A representative of the company
made the suggestion at the sports
ground of the Lagos State National
Youth Service Corps, Iyana-Ipaja,
where it sponsored a Volley Ball
competition among youth corpers.
The Brand Manager, Cowbell
Choco, Mr Abiodun Ajiborode,
who represented the company,
said Nigerians, particularly
youths, must be active in sporting
activities to remain healthy and
continue to make the desired impact in the country.
He said his company regards

Residents protest murder of neighbours by hoodlums

R

ESIDENTS of Oreta Community in Ikorodu, Lagos,
have stormed the House of
Assembly to protest the alleged
killing of two members of the
community by land speculators.
Spokesperson of the community, Babajide Samuel, explained
that some land speculators attacked the community at about
11.30 am, destroying properties,

By Oziegbe Okoeki

attacking residents and also
shooting sporadically into the
air.
Samuel alleged that the group
killed one Free man Zannu, kidnapped two other residents and
left scores of others with serious
injuries. The injured, he added,
are under intensive care at an un-

disclosed hospital.
He said the alleged attack was
sponsored, adding that the thugs
numbering 30 carried guns and
cutlasses.
Another woman, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity, alleged that her 25-year-old son
was killed by the hoodlums in
her presence.
The placard-bearing residents,

however, appealed to the lawmakers and the government to
come to their rescue by arresting and prosecuting the hoodlums.
The Speaker, Adeyemi
Ikuforiji, implored them not to
take the laws into their hands by
retaliating. He assured them that
the situation would be addressed
by the state government.

By Amidu Arije

sponsoring the game as part of its
corporate social responsibility.
"We sponsor this completion basically as one of our corporate social responsibility as a company.
Again. it serves as an opportunity
for us to get the consumers to interact with the brand. Apart from
the fact that we are giving them
cash prizes, we also give them trophy to appreciate their zeal and
patronage.
He said another motive behind
the sponsorship was to reinforce
the youth’s buying motive and
make them used to the brand.
"We are giving out N30,000 to the
winner, while the second place
winner goes home with N20,000
and third place winner takes home
N10,000. We spent N60,000 as cash
rewards, beside other materials
like T-shirts and face caps which
we gave out freely, among other
things," he said.
Captain of the winning team, Platoon 9, Miss Chinonye Agu, who
received the trophy and cash
award on behalf of the team,
thanked the company for their interest in the sport which made it
sponsor the competition.

SEND YOUR STORIES AND PICTURES TO CITY BEATS at ynotcitybeats@gmail.com OR SEND AN SMS TO 08033054340

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

36

Igbo leaders
mourn
Ojukwu

E

ZENDIGBO Lagos State,
Igwe Hyacinth Ohazulike
has described the late
Ezeigbo Gburugburu, and Ikemba
Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka
Odumegwu Ojukwu as a great
African and an accomplished
nationalist who helped to
structure the country for political
development. This is as another
Lagos-based business mogul
and Managing Director of
Ndubest Investment Limited; Mr.
Ndubuisi Ohia described the
death of the late warlord as a
great loss to the country in
general and Ndigbo in particular.
Fielding questions at the Lagos
residence of Mr. Ohia during the
celebration of the mogul’s 40th
birth day and 10th year of
successful marriage, Igwe
Ohazulike said the best burial
package Nigerian leaders can
give to the late nationalist will
be to restore the confidence of
Nigerian people on true
federalism, good governance,
provision of growth enabling
infrastructure, education and

T

HE Managing Director of
Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC), Dr.
Chris Oboh has lamented the various problems that have undermined
the region.
He particularly noted the peculiar
environmental challenges including
indiscriminate waste disposal, oil
spills, air pollution, gas flaring, unhealthy occupational practices,
floods and sea incursion.
Speaking in Akure, the Ondo State
capital, Oboh said that the challenges
cannot be met by government alone,
stressing that individuals also have
to evaluate their unwholesome practices.
The NDDC chief, who spoke at an
environmental awareness workshop, was represented by the Director, Directorate of Environmental
Protection, E. Sam Ayadi-Yala. Oboh
said the country and the entire world
are now grappling with environmental challenges.
“The environment is our heritage
we live in it and use its resources
like air, land, and water to meet our
needs,” he said. “While meeting the
ever-growing needs of the people,
we also put pressure on the environment. When the pressure exceeds the
carrying capacity of the environment
to repair and replenish itself, it creates a serious problem of environmental degradation.”
The Managing Director spoke of

security of lives and property.
Corroborating Ohazulike’s
view, the celebrator, who is a

stakeholder in the power sector,
called on government to do
everything possible to stabilise
national power supply before the
end of the year so as to kick-start

the 2012 federal budget on the
best footing where power
stability will serve as a catalyst.
Ohia also cautioned on the
infiltration of substandard

electrical products into the
Nigerian market, saying the
scourge has continued to weaken
the speed of power sector
development.

NDDC holds seminar in Ondo
From Damisi Ojo, Akure

the need for the society to embrace a
lifestyle that is environmentfriendly.
The state commissioner for environment, Chief Sola Ebiseni regretted that none of the NDDC’s
borehole water project in the state
coastal area is working. He urged
the appropriate authorities to deal
with the fundamental problems confronting the people in Ilaje and EseOdo local government areas.
“We are urging the two interventionist agency NDDC and
OSOPADEC [Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission] to live up to expectations by

exposing the problems in the coastal
region with a view to tackling them
head-on.
He said, “The environment is a
heritage; nothing can be done without it, people in the mandate area
should do everything possible to
face the fundamental problem in the
riverside area”.
In various papers delivered by resource persons at the workshop, Dr.
Tijani Alawe of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Lead City University, Ibadan, described waste as any
material discarded as having no consumer value to the original owner.
He said there are solid and industrial waste, stressing that solid waste
generation poses serious health haz-

The environment is a heritage;
nothing can be done without it, people
in the mandate area should do
everything possible to face the
fundamental problem in the riverside area

ards to human inhabitants of the area.
The aesthetic value of the environment is also affected as a result of
waste, refuse, scrap or obsolete materials or any other types of leftover
items dumped or scattered about
indiscriminately.
Also, Dr. Adeyeye Adewole of
Ondo State University of Science and
Technology
(OSUSTECH)
Okitipsupa, highlighted risks that
are associated with the damaging
effects of human activities on the
environment.
According to him, some experts
have predicted that there may not
be a “future” for our younger generation, based on the results of various environmental audits which indicate high level destructive activities by man on the environment.
The university don, who noted
that the situation in the Niger Delta
region is precarious expressed the
need to solve the problem particularly as they affect fishing and farming.
He said efforts should be made to
control pollution especially oil spill,
and that effective and integrated
waste management mechanism be
put in place, and incentives and compensation given to farmers and fish-

ermen.
The Director of Ecology in the
Ondo State Ministry of Environment,
Mr Olumide Kinga in his paper,
noted that governments all over the
world accord topmost priority to
increased farming and fishing activities.
He noted that as population increases, there is need for fishermen
and all categories of farmers to increase their productive capacity.

RIMARY School teachers in
Ekiti State will soon start
enjoying car and housing
loan grants, as a bill to that effect
may be passed by State Assembly
before the end of the year.
The bill is to be known as “Primary School Teachers Loans Board.
This was disclosed by the Chairman, House Committee on Education, Science and Technology, Honourable Kehinde Boluwade, during
the Committee’s working visit to
the Board and Management of Universal Basic Education Board
(SUBEB), in Ado-Ekiti recently.
The House Committee Chairman stated that the committee has
concluded all plans for the bill to
be passed into law to enable teachers enjoy the gains of democracy
under the present administration
and to enhance their living standards.
He reiterated the commitment of
government towards improving
the standard of education in the
state.
While expressing its committee’s
satisfaction with the activities of
the Board, Hon. Boluwade urged
the management of SUBEB to keep
up with their impressive standard
of educational management,
promising to assist the Board in
getting the defaulting contractors
back to the abandoned project sites
soonest.
In her welcome address, Executive Chairman of SUBEB, Profes-

THE NATION

37

MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

H

OPE and succour have
come the way of two indigent students who are parishioners of Immaculate Heart
Catholic Church, Iba New Site Ojo,
Lagos.
Miss Samuel and Master Chinaka
were offered scholarships, which
cover JSS2 to SS3, by Mr and Mrs
Fidel Morah; proprietors of Tony
Field School of Excellence and Fidel Madonna College of Excellence
Iba New Site on the outskirts Lagos. This brings to 15 the number
of poor students benefiting from
the scholarship scheme of the
Morahs. One prominent feature of
this gesture is that all the beneficiaries are selected from parishes in
the Badagry Deanary.
Preaching a sermon during the
Mass, the Parish Priest of Immaculate Heart Catholic Church, Rev.
Father Dominic Okure (O.P) who
led Very Rev. Fr John Ola-Maria
Agbolade, Rev. Fr Emmanuel
Taiwo (O.P), Rev. Fr Charles
Onwordi (O.P), in the celebration
of the High Mass to commemorate
the ceremony which coincided
with the 20th anniversary of the
schools, praised Mr and Mrs Fidel
Morah for venturing into what he
called “development of sound
minds for the benefit of the entire
society.”
Continuing, Fr Okure noted that
“the formation of the individual
through teaching and learning is
the greatest legacy to bequeath to
humanity for the upliftment of the
society.”
He opined that “inasmuch as God
gives us children, it is our responsibility to train or bring up our children in a manner that glorifies
God. But it is also divine in the
sense that anyone who undertakes
the task of formation or education
of the children is participating in
the prerogative of God in leading
men to the truth.
“This divine aspect of your calling challenges you to strive to lead
the children to the truth for them
to be grounded in the Word, to be
grounded in the teachings of
Christ.
“Educators and those who engage
in formation of the young ones
should strive to ensure that they
do not destroy the natural talents
that God endowed them with in
their bid to correct what seemingly
are stubborn tendencies,” he said.
“We know that when we talk of
education, it is not just literacy or

A

S Muslims all over the
world celebrate the new Islamic year, Hijrah1433, a
Muslim group, United Muslim Association of Nigeria (UMAN) in
Oshodi area of Lagos has called on
the Federal Government to tackle
insecurity and the menace of Boko
Harram head on.

•Rev Fr Joseph Nwanua congratulating the students after presenting them with scholarship packages. With them is Mr Fidel Morah; the benefactor

Succour for indigent students
By Chinaka Okoro

the ability to read and write. It goes
beyond that to being a situation in
which an individual is given the
ability to overcome the inhibiting
factors of life and the ability to do
things in a manner that is excellently different for an established
norm or that which is not consistent with our own ideas and manner of doing things.
“We know that Fidel Madonna
has been a school that strives to
maintain a balance in education
strategies in the sense that it endeavours to avail the students of
every opportunity that they need
to learn what needs to be learnt to

be able to understand completely
what is necessary in the contemporary society, it also tries to make
the students appreciate the essence
of moral rectitude,” he said.
He noted that the challenge of living under the obedience of family is
one that has been facing the society
right from the beginning of time,
even as he disclosed that the business of training the individual could
be characterised by difficulties and
successes, adding: “from our interactions with the proprietors of the
schools shortly before the commencement of the ceremony indicate that Tony Field School of Excellence and Fidel Madonna College of
Excellence have been a tale of miracle and the manifestation of God’s

love and grace for us to accomplish
greater things if we are able to obey
in order to learn.”
Noting that the task of formation
or moulding of the human person
towards success is sometimes complex in nature, Fr Okure disclosed
that it is one venture that enhances
humanity.
“It is for this reason we hail and
congratulate the management and
staff of Tony Field School of Excellence and Fidel Madonna College of
Excellence for dedicating themselves
to the formation of minds towards
understanding the plans of God.
He said that civilisation, growth
and progress are situations whereby
the human person makes manifest
the gifts he received from God, even

Muslims preach peace
By Hameed Yekini

The group stated this at a rally it
organised to mark the commence-

ment of the new Islamic year,
Hijirah 1433 AH.
Chairman of the association Alfa
Taofeek Nahdat said the govern-

ment needed to take the issue of
insecurity seriously.
Nahdat said Hijirah is a means
by which Muslims count their calendar, even as he stated that the
rally was meant to create awareness for the importance of the year
and why Muslims need to celebrate it.
“Hijirah is the new year for Muslims. This is how we often do every
year to mark the new hijirah just
as Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W) did
in his own time. In Nigeria what
many people know is Christmas
and New Year. Even some Muslims do not know the calendar of
the Muslims. If awareness rally can
continue just the way we are doing
it now, I think we will come out of
this with a huge success. By celebrating hijirah, we definitely will
enhance the Muslim youths to be
able to know every month in Islam, just the way they understand
the British calendar we use in Nigeria,’’ he said.
He said Muslims preach peace
and not terrorism neither are they
violent people. He added that the
Boko Haram menace in the North is
a politicised issue which government needs to look into, saying no
right thinking Muslims will take

as he hinted that there are a lot of
issues in the society today that make
mankind to deviate from the plans
of God.
The plans of God are not anti-scientific neither are they anti-civilisation. But every science, every movement towards civilisation that does
not take cognisance of the truth as
God has revealed in the pages of the
Scriptures is not of God.
“It is for this reason that I am
throwing a fresh challenge to members of staff of Fidel Madonna College of Excellence, and by extension,
to those of Tony Field School of Excellence.
In a chat with Newsextra after the
event, Mr Morah said the journey
thus far had not been easy, even as
he expressed his gratitude to God for
giving him the ability to weather the
storm.

the life of his fellow mankind.
“Many people think Muslims are
violent people because of the issue
going on in Nigeria. They said
Muslims are wicked but we want
to make this clear to them that we
Muslims are not terrorists. We are
not Boko Hara,” he said.
One of the founders of UMAN
Alfa Taoheed Abdul Hameed
Oladepo said he is grateful to God
for the success achieved so far since
the establishment of the association
for celebration of the new Islamic
year. He said the essence of the association is to make Muslims in the
community be united.
‘’I express my gratitude to God
and to the entire congregation of
Muslims Association in Oshodi.
Indeed, I am happier today, just
like yesterday when we started the
whole thing. We are getting to our
destination. The motive of this association is to promote unity and
peace among Muslims and people
generally, we want to prove this
to the whole world that we are not
violent people; rather we are
peaceful people,’’ he added.
The rally, which took off from
the Oshodi Isolo Local Government secretariat was well attended
by organisations within the local
government. They walked down
streets like Adeyemi, Church,
Ogunoloko, Arowojobe and ended
it at Igbehinadun.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

38

The lawmaker made reference to
programmes like empowerment in
agriculture, vocational trade and trading
for genuinely interested men and women

Ondo
lawmaker
offsets patient’s
medical bill
From Damisi Ojo, akure

MEMBER of the Ondo State
House of Assembly, Hon
Olatunji Dairo, representing
Owo constituency II, has paid the
medical bill of a patient, Miss Raino
Alajo at Federal Medical Centre
(FMC), Owo.
The medical experts said Alajo’s
ailment may have resulted from the
use of hard drugs during pregnancy.
The good news is that the patient
has received treatment from doctors
at the FMC, Owo and she can now
walk conveniently, thanks to Hon
Dairo who offset her hospital bill.
Speaking to Newsextra, the lawmaker said the case of Miss Raino
Alajo was service rendered to his
people.
The lawmaker said at the moment,
another patient (name withheld) is
receiving treatment at the Obafemi
Awolowo Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife,
Osun State.
He said as a lawmaker, he will concentrate on issues that would develop
the land and the people.
The lawmaker made reference to
programmes like empowerment in
agriculture, vocational trade and
trading for genuinely interested men
and women.
Dairo said though Alajo’s medical
bill at FMC Owo amounts to millions
of naira, it will not deter him from
serving his people.
Medical experts and the patient’s
mother thanked the lawmaker for his
kind gesture and called on other political office holders to emulate him.

A

O

NDO State Governor, Dr.
Olusegun Mimiko has
commended the Chairman, Interim Caretaker Committee of Okitipupa Local Government, Hon Wale Ogunmade for
his outstanding performance.
Mimiko, who was represented
by the State Commissioner for
Commerce
and
Industry
Hon,Tayo Akinmojo at the empowerment programme to commemorate 100 days in office of the

•Miss Alajo on her sick bed with her mother

Mimiko praises council chair
From Damisi Ojo,
Akure

chairman said Ogunmade was
making the people of the grassroots enjoy the Caring Heart programme of the ruling Labour
Party (LP) maximally.

He appreciated the numerous
supporters of the party as well as
beneficiaries of the empowerment who converged at the secretariat complex ground, Okitipupa
for their unflinching support for
him and his administration.
Mimiko promised that his government would continue to re-

member the people in the area
while distributing dividends of
democracy, even as he urged them
to continue to co-operate with
and support governments of LP
at the local and state levels.
Earlier in his address,
Ogunmade had, on behalf of the
governor, appreciated the people
for their support which manifested in the last election as well
as their participation in LP programmes at all times.
“Your unwavering attitude has
also made us to continue with the
Caring Heart Programmes of the
state government. I want to assure
you that you will always be considered for government’s programmes and actions,” he promised.
The chairman disclosed that
the partyloyalists would be considered this time round, a departure from the past where dividends of democracy were spread
across board in the area, even
though, he said, development

would still cut across the 13
wards.
“About 70 per cent of these empowerment materials are targeted at making the women
happy because Mr. Governor has
passion for women.
“The women leaders will be
given a Haojue Motorcycle each
but you are strongly advised to
employ a male supporter of our
great party to use it for commercial purposes in which case, two
persons are empowered with one
cycle as the latter will receive salary,” he explained.
Ogunmade assured those who
were yet to benefit to be patient
as so much was still in the pipeline for all loyal members of the
party.
The women leader of the party
in the local government, Mrs.
Funke Orogbemi was full of
praises for both Governor
Mimiko and Mr. Ogunmade, describing them as God-given to the
women folk.

Mimiko promised that his government would
continue to remember the people
in the area while distributing dividends
of democracy, even as he urged them to
continue to co-operate with and support
governments of LP at the local and state levels
•Delegates sing at a Jehovah’s Witnesses event in Ifatumo community, Oyo State

Fill in the blank spaces in the grid such that every column,
row and 2 by 3 box contains the numbers 1-6.

SHowBiTzz

Eddie Murphy May Host 2012 Oscars

POETRY
Always there for you
You are friendly, kind and caring
Sensitive, loyal and understanding
Humorous, fun, secure and true
Always there... yes that’s you.
Special, accepting, exciting and wise
Truthful and helpful, with honest eyes
Confiding, forgiving, cheerful and bright
Yes that’s you... not one bit of spite.

The decision will be announced soon after a meeting of
producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer and Academy
of Motion Pictures President Tom Sherak, the Los
Angeles Times reported.
Rumors of Murphy’s nomination surfaced on a Web
site that covers black comedians and entertainment.
The reasoning behind Murphy as host is to return to the
more popular single-comedian host format. The recent
two-actor or two-comedian duos haven’t been as
successful with viewers.
However, Murphy has not been featured live on stage
in about 25 years and his film career hasn’t been on fire
as of late, aside from voice work in the “Shrek” series.
Other names being considered for the role include Billy
Crystal and Jerry Seinfeld.

Pep Talk

FARMHOUSE WIDOW
Jack decided to go skiing with his buddy, Bob. They loaded
up Jack’s station-wagonand headed north. After driving for
a few hours, they got caught in a terrible blizzard. They
pulled into a nearby farmhouse and asked the attractive
lady of the house if they could spend the night.
“I’m recently widowed,” she explained, “and I’m afraidthe
neighbors will talk if I let you stay in my house.”
“Not to worry,” Jack said, “we’ll be happy to sleep in the
barn.”

You’re one of a kind, different from others
Generous, charming, but not one that smothers
Optimistic, thoughtful, happy and game
But not just another... in the long chain.

Nine months later, Jack got a letter from the widow’s
attorney. He called up his friend Bob and said, “Bob, do you
remember thatgood-looking widow at the farm we stayed
at?”

Do you know....
1.Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize
winner. What’s her famous name?
2.In the wake of the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1990, a
classic U.S. motion picture made its debut in the Soviet
Union under the title, “Unesennye Vetrom.” What is the
English title of the film?
3.In April 1989, student demonstrations in Beijing were
brutally suppressed and lead to hundreds of deaths. What
were students protesting at the rallies that resulted in the
Tiananmen Square massacre of June 3 to 4?
4.In 1984, two bodyguards assassinated this prime
minister who they were assigned to protect.

Answers

1.Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Born in 1910 in Skopje,
Macedonia
2.The English title is “Gone With the Wind.”
3.They were mourning the death of Hu Yaobang. Yaobang
had been ousted as the Communist’s secretary two years
earlier.
4.India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (1917-84) was
assassinated by her bodyguards. In 1991, Mrs. Gandhi’s
son, Rajiv Gandhi, suffered a similar fate, albeit not at
the hands of his bodyguards

Eddie Murphy has emerged as a top candidate to be the
master of ceremonies for the 2012 Academy Awards in
Hollywood, event officials say.

HUMOUR

“Did you happen to get up in the middle of the night, go up
to the house and visit with her?”
“Yes, I have to admit that I did.”
“Did you happen to use my name instead of telling her your
name?”
Bob’s face turns red and he said, “Yeah, I’m afraid I did.”
“Well, thanks! She just died and left me everything

Man on Deathbed
As he lay on his deathbed, the man confided to his wife,
“I cannot die without telling you the truth. I cheated on
you throughout our whole marriage. All those nights
when I told you I was working late, I was with other
women. And not just one woman either, but I’ve slept
with dozens of them.”
His wife looked at him calmly and said, “Why do you
think I gave you the poison?”

Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary,
obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than before. - Polybius

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JOBS
THE NATION

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.com

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

49

•Applicants writng an aptitude test

Workers’ fate now
hangs on aptitude test
If you think you can get a lucrative job on a platter of gold, you
better perish the thought. Companies now go for workers, who
can pass their aptitude tests. This is the trend in blue-chip
organisations, which hire reputable examination bodies to conduct
tests for applicants. AKINOLA AJIBADE writes .
• STORY ON PAGE 50

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

JOBS

Workers’ fate now hangs on aptitude test
F

OR many companies, filling sensitive
vacant positions is no longer taken for
granted. To them, only capable hands
can produce the desired results, and bring
about growth. So, they are raising the
benchmark for employing certain categories of workers. In recent times,
organisations reviewed their requirements
for engagement to get the best hands in the
job market. They are asking applicants for
a minimum of second class upper degree,
or its equivalent. They should also have a
strong drive, ability to engage in logical
debates, charisma, in-depth knowledge of
their profession and ability to pass pre-employment tests, among other requirements.
Of importance is the pre-job tests which
companies have adopted. This is evident by
the quality of examination bodies hired to
conduct such tests. It is a common trend to
see firms engaging the services of renowned examination bodies for the tests.
The bodies include the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigerian Business Technical Education (NBTE), National
Examination Council (NECO) and the Joint
Admissions and Matriculation Board
(JAMB), among others.
While the WAEC has been conducting aptitude tests for job seekers since the 70s,
other bodies are just going into the business.
The bodies prepare questions across
boards, to determine the suitability of the
candidates competing for jobs. Part of the
objective is to find out whether the applicants are abreast of developments in the
society; remember what they were taught
in schools and to assess their level of intelligence. In the process, qualified applicants
are employed after they have met the cutoff points.
The Nation gathered that aptitude test has
been determining the fate of job applicants.
Oil firms, such as Chevron Nigeria Limited, Shell Nigeria, Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc,
among others, have used aptitude tests to
determine the eligibility of their workers.
Banks, insurance firms and manufacturing
and other entities have joined the train as
well. For instance, Royal Exchange Assurance of Nigeria (REAN) has just conducted
an aptitude test for some applicants. The
test was conducted by WAEC and its result
was decisive. Hundreds of applicants were
disqualified for not meeting the cut-off
point. The company said the test was conducted to employ quality staff to push
growth.
The company’s spokesman, Mr Austen
Agbaren, admitted that the firm hired
WAEC to conduct the aptitude test for applicants recently. He said the process of
employing the right candidates for the
company was still ongoing, adding that it
would be pre-mature to make a judgment
on it.
One of the candidates, who spoke on con-

‘Through aptitude test,
it would be easier to
know how intelligent
and brilliant
applicants are. The test
shows whether
applicants would be
assets or not to
organisations that want
to employ them. When
candidates score
between 75 to 80 per
cent in an aptitude test,
such candidates should
be relied upon when
the chips are down’
•Nigerian Labour Congress President
Abdulwaheed Omar

•Minister of Labour and Productivity
Emeka Wogu

dition of anonymity, said organisations
now test the ability of applicants before
they employ them. He added that a candidate loses his chance of getting a job once
he or she fails the test. He said employers
are not ready to look at your academic
qualifications, once you fail an aptitude
test.
“I think employers have realised that
there is a widening gap between the schools
and the labour market. They have seen that
many graduates cannot defend their certificates. They have seen instances whereby
people present fake certificates. They know
that half-baked graduates abound in the
market, and are not ready to take chances,
making firms to attach more importance to
aptitude tests.”
He said he has learnt a lot from the tests,
despite that he has failed to meet the cutoff point set by the insurance outfit.
Speaking on the issue, a Deputy Registrar
of WAEC, Mr Yusuf Ari, said the body
started the conduct of aptitude tests for job
applicants four decades ago, adding that the
body has been conducting tests for companies across sectors since then.
He said: “In the 70s and 80s, it was only
WAEC that was conducting aptitude tests
for people seeking employment in corporate organisations. The body has done well
in this regard by ensuring that good questions were set for such people. After the

test, we ensure that the results are collated
and given to the companies that engaged
us. Thereafter, the company decides what
they want to do with the results of the tests.
The companies decide the cut-off points, the
parameters for choosing the right candidates for the jobs, and when the new would
resume, among other salient issues.”
Ari said the test is a major determinant
of selecting quality workers, adding that
the body has never employed for companies.
He said other agencies have followed the
footsteps of WAEC, having realised the importance of aptitude test for workers.
“We have assisted oil companies and
banks, among others, to employ the right
workers. It was later we started hearing that
individuals and management consultants
have started the business of organising skill
test for companies that want to employ,”
he added.
The immediate past Managing Director,
Longman Nigeria Plc, Dr Dan Obidiegwu,
said companies are not ready to employ
workers who would not add value to them.
He said organisations are afraid of employing workers that are “not useful”, adding that the development informed the decision to conduct rigorous tests for applicants.
He said the standard of education has
fallen drastically, arguing that companies

are trying to ascertain whether they are
employing the right workers or not.
Obidiegwu said big corporations in the
United States and Britain conduct aptitude
tests for workers, adding that Nigeria
should not be an exception.
He said the world is experiencing cash
crunch, sudden closure of companies, low
capacity utilisation, retrenchment, among
others. These, he said, make firms to look
for candidates who would be of immense
contribution to them.
“Through aptitude test, it would be easier
to know how intelligent and brilliant applicants are. The test shows whether applicants would be assets or not to
organisations that want to employ them.
When candidates score between 75 to 80
per cent in an aptitude test, such candidates
should be relied upon when the chips are
down”.
Aptitude test is vital to the success of any
recruitment initiative. It shows how eligible applicants are, their level of intelligence, and ability to cope with pressure in
a firm.
However, it is not in all cases that aptitude test reveals how good an applicant is.
Findings have shown that written test do
not in all cases reveal the true ability of an
applicant. Instances abound where applicants have passed an aptitude test, but failed
to perform well.

CAREER MANAGEMENT

I

T is a known fact, especially to
job seekers without experience, that job candidates that
are employed are more desirable
than those who are not. Employers seem to believe you are more
qualified if you are currently employed, (it is true that you can argue this). This article will focus
on the insider-tips and secrets to
job hunting and employment
searches without your current employer finding out.
One, career advice and employment opinions strongly agree
about keeping your job search objectives from your current employer, especially during the early
stages or at least until you start
lining up new work assignments
or gain prospective on your current industry demand or job market for those new employment opportunities.
You should not inform your employer that you are looking for a
new job. Doing so may place both
of you in a difficult position. Most
employers fill fire you immediately, since your loyalty and commitment will be in doubt. Nice
ones may start to seek a replace-

Job search while in employment
By Olu Oyeniran

ment for you as soon as possible.
And if your employer finds a replacement before you’ve found a
job, then you could find yourself
unemployed before you find another job, especially if you give
notice prematurely. Besides, telling your employer about your
job search might burn your
bridges if you decide to stay. Anyhow yuo look at it, it is wise to
keep your job search a secret until
you are successful in finding another job.
As a practical advice, if you do
not want your employer to find
out that you are looking for a new
job, then it is wise not to use your
work email or phone number for
the search. No one is suggesting
that your employer will spy on
you, but keep your work phone
and email for work related activities.
On that same note, do not search
for jobs while you are on the
clock. Even when it seems conve-

nient, one should be wary of job
searching while you are on the
job. Your employer is not paying
you to do that, so don’t. If you
have limited resources, consider
job searching on off hours but
make sure you are not violating
any company resource misuse
policies.
Consider taking a day off or you
can spend your lunch break
searching if you have the ability
for some privacy. However, it is
simply not a good idea to job
search when you are supposed to
be working. Try to use your own
time.
But then, you need to be committed to your job search and be
accountable. You need to create
time and work your plans as regards job search. Getting a job,
they say is a job. But for those currently in employment, it is a parttime job. It a has to taken seriously, that notwithstanding.
Two, office politics, disgruntled
employees, or “how dare they” at-

tempt to succeed or improve their
career potential. Let’s face it,
people talk. If you are job searching and you are still employed at
your current job, do not tell your
co-workers that you are looking
for a job. Avoid posting or broadcasting about your job search on
Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, or
other social networking sites. If
you can, try to use former coworkers as references instead of
current co-workers.
In the same vein, people are
nosey. In your effort to keep your
job search a secret from your coworkers, avoid having phone conversations in front of them about
your job. Be sure that no one can
over hear you. Many online employment sites, job boards, or career development sites allow you
to block parts or all of your resume information online. If you
are concerned the human resources (HR) or your boss will
stumble upon your resume online,
consider using these privacy op-

tions offered by these services.
Three, avoid sudden change of
behaviour. Don’t change to being
nice or overtly agressive if you
have not been like that before. Or,
suddenly coming to work early or
later. They are all red flags for discerning employers!
Lastly, be careful about dressing
up for interviews. Suddenly,
dressing sharply for lunch time interviews will cause suspicion
among your co-workers and your
boss. You might have to be prepared for a quick clothing change
before and after your interview.
Being cautious will help you to
find opportunities for advancing
your career with minimal chances
of losing your current job or creating any uncomfortable situation
with your current job.

Enterprise Bank Limited (EBL) is an offshoot of Spring Bank Plc, one of the three institutions
nationalised by the Federal Government, following its inability to meet the recapitalisation
deadline. In this interview in Lagos, Group Managing Director, EBL, Ahmed Kuru, says the
institution is now strong and ready to compete. He speaks on other issues, including the defunct
Spring Bank workers who have been re-absolved, the challenges of running a new institution,
the bank’s mandate and vision. Group Business Editor AYODELE AMINU reports.

E

NTERPRISE Bank intends to be a medium-sized financial institution, given the dynamics of the industry where scale and size are much more imperative to
compete, how does that work out for you?
Agreed, scale is very important; we still intend to be a
medium-sized bank. With 153 branches, by any standard,
that is scale. I am sure when you are talking about scale
you may be referring to the size of the balance sheet. A
large balance sheet size does not necessarily mean you
have the most efficient and profitable bank. So, what we
intend to do is to leverage efficiency to create the type of
scale you are talking about, but we have scale. Everybody
in this industry, today, will tell you that the future is retail
business. But retail does not bring money today. It is for
the long haul. Most of the banks will tell you they want to
be retail banks. But when you scrutinise their balance
sheets, you will see that retail does not contribute more
than five to 10 per cent to the bottom-line. However, for us
to reach the unbanked as we all desire, we have to keep
pushing at the retail banking end. Nevertheless, the commercial segment is very crucial and is the area that all of us
are now playing in, because it is also the area that gives
you quick returns and makes it easy for you to cover the
whole spectrum of the market segments.
What of the high ends?
Of course, there is also the high end, which is also known
as the up-finance banking segment– the corporate and investment banking. Based on the universal banking model,
there are banks that are playing in that beat alone. For

some of us it is important to maintain presence in that
segment also in order to follow the value chain. But you
must focus on the segment of the market you want to play
in. Every bank in Nigeria, besides those that are playing in
the up-finance banking segment will tell you that the retail business is what they are targeting and that informs
the recent acquisitions and mergers we witnessing in the
industry. Also, the cash-lite project, which is the policy that
will limit daily cash transactions for individual and corporate customers to N150,000 and N1million, respectively,
starting January 1 with Lagos State as the pilot, is all targeted towards deepening retail banking. The policy is
aimed at encouraging banking culture - targeting most of
the people that are yet to begin to keep their money in the
banking arena without them necessarily coming into the
banking halls for their transactions.
As a bridge bank, people expect you to maintain and
sustain, rather than to build and grow, and that will affect
how they relate to the organisation. How do you deal with
the reality on a day-to-day basis of being a bridge bank?
On whether the bridge banks are here only to maintain
and sustain the organisations, I say no. That is not our
mandate. Our mandate is to build, grow and run the banks
commercially as if nothing is going to happen. If you come
to me today with N200 billion with intention of acquiring
Enterprise Bank, I will tell you I am very sorry I do not
have such a mandate. What I am here to do is to run Enterprise Bank commercially, grow and position it alongside
other banks in the industry and make it competitive. In the

final analysis, if at any point my principals decide that
they want to sell, it is okay. But that is not my mandate.
Our mandate is to grow, build and add value to the institution.
You said Enterprise Bank has 1.5 million depositors. With
the change in the bank, has the number of depositors decreased?
We have about 1.5 million customers. Obviously, in any
financial institution, you will realise that not all accounts
are operational. You would have a percentage that is operational and another fraction that is not. So, what we try
to do is to see how we can convert some of the dormant
accounts into operational accounts and at the same time
try to get new customers. Definitely, you may have gotten
new accounts but the first priority will always be how you
can make all the accounts operational. You will find that
most of the companies in Nigeria today have accounts with
us and other banks as well. What you need to do is to start
visiting them and assuring them that you are back in business so that they can make their accounts active again. It
also gives you the opportunity to understand the current
state of their business to enable you tailor your products to
meet identified requirements. To answer your other question directly, the business is obviously increasing.
Are all your 153 branches nationwide profitable and do
you intend to close those that are not profitable?
With every sense of responsibility, it is not usual to find
• Continued on page 52

all branches of banks profitable. Typically,
the 20:80 rule applies. Twenty per cent of
branches providing 80 per cent of the corporate profit. But because of some synergic
benefit you have to be in a lot of locations,
not because of the viability of those locations, but because of benefits derivable from
other locations. For instance, if you want to
operate in the East and you don’t have a
branch in Alaba Market, you are wasting
your time. This is because the Igbo trader
may not want to carry cash from Nnewi to
Alaba Market. So Alaba Market may not be
profitable; you may not even have a customer in Alaba Market but because of the
business in Nnewi you have to maintain
your branch in Alaba. If you want to be a
national bank also it is expected that you
would have your operation in all the state
capitals. So not all the branches are profitable and it is not unusual.
What happened to the workers that were
in Spring Bank? Have they been inherited
by the present bank? Are the workers expecting any payoffs or have they been integrated?
In my opening remarks, I did clarify that
one of the main objectives of the intervention is to safeguard employment and that
has been made very clear by the regulators
and it has been re-emphasised by us. I am
not also aware of anybody that has been
sacked because of the bridged bank arrangement. Legally, there is no operating bank
called Spring Bank in existence with a licence. The new bank has given employment
to all the workers of the defunct Spring Bank
under new terms and conditions in line with
industry practice. It is not just a change of
name, the bank is now totally a new entity
that acquired the assets and liabilities of a
defunct entity. So obviously, if the staff is
migrating to a new entity, there must be
new rules of engagement on the basis of the
new entity and that is what we did. All of
them were offered letters of engagement
and they were all incorporated into the new
entity. So, there is no job loss at all because
it is the objective of government that no
one should lose his or her job. Nevertheless, going forward, you are running a performance-based entity. Everybody must
perform. It is very important. Our mandate
is to run the institution commercially and
profitably. We intend to do that and the staff
is at the core of that mandate. That is why
part of our mission statement captures that
aspect. We want to have a highly motivated
workforce. So, everybody that is working in
Enterprise Bank today has equal opportunity
to prove himself or herself and as management, we have the obligation to train them,
provide the necessary tool and create the
conducive atmosphere for them to perform.
After we do that, we now demand of them
performance because we intend to run a performance-based organisation. There is no job
loss. They are all part of us. It is a continuation and every staff has been integrated into
one big family.

•Kuru

You said in your statement that one of
the mandates of the bank is to break from
the past, have you achieved that? What are
the challenges of trying to achieve that and,
of course, I see that your bank is the most
aggressive of the three nationalised banks,
how acceptable is your bank to Nigerians?
It is always difficult to break from the
past, as breaking from the past totally requires more than one action or event, rather,
a combination of actions and activities. The
event that has necessitated a break from the
past is that there was a liquidation and there
is a new bank and new administration. But
there are lots of challenges you face when
you want to break from the past that includes people, culture, customers, processes, branding, ownership etc. Two most
important are people related; customer and
staff. First of all, you must reassure your
customers that all is well through ways and
means they can easily identify with. It is
necessary to do so because right from the
time of the merger that produced the defunct Spring Bank in 2006, there have been
issues. So you have to assure them that it is
now a new bank with service excellence as
our core value. Secondly, as the customer
reassurance needs to be done by the staff
who, themselves have been de-motivated
and demoralised since 2006 due to one crisis or the other, you have to also work on
their psychology, motivation and training.
They need to be reassured also. Otherwise
attending to customers becomes a problem.
The reason being that if you are not motivated, it affects how you interact, interface
and relate with customers. We require total cultural reorientation. The next important is the internal and external rebranding.
It is a huge exercise that comes with huge
cost! It involves branch ambience, media
engagements, attitude, tools, stationery,
personal identification tools and so on.
Then you have to change the platform on
which you drive most of these processes
you are talking about. There are so many
challenges indeed. On the other side too,
you have service providers. These are
people who have provided services to the
bank in the last five or six years and because there were issues at the time, they
did not come forward to make any claim
on the institution. Suddenly, there is a new
healthy institution and then all kinds of
claims begin to surface. This is a challenge
because it directly impacts on your capital.
You also have litigations from those who
feel that they still have issues to settle. You
find that you are dealing with past issues
in more measures than current developmental issues. And all these have direct correlation to your day-to-day customer interface. What matters to the customer is to
transact his business efficiently through appropriate channels.
How do you intend to achieve this?
You have to prioritise. I assure you that all
the challenges are surmountable. We have
strategies in place to handle these challenges
and I think we are making very good
progress. I also think our customers have

•Kuru

‘You have to prioritise. I assure you that all the
challenges are surmountable. We have strategies in
place to handle these challenges and I think we are
making very good progress. I also think our customers
have started responding. They are comfortable that we
mean what we are saying because to us it is important
that whatever we say, we do it as we have said it. So,
there is no challenge that we have seen so far that
cannot be tackled and we are tackling all of them’
started responding. They are comfortable
that we mean what we are saying because to
us it is important that whatever we say, we
do it as we have said it. So, there is no challenge that we have seen so far that cannot be
tackled and we are tackling all of them. The
last couple of months have been a period of
evaluation for us. The year, 2012, is going to
be our leap year, because we would have
every issue in proper perspective, whether
people, technology or process.
Have you seen a copy of the court order
restraining Enterprise Bank from dealing
in the assets, businesses and subsidiaries,
which are purported to have been transferred to your bank from the former bank?
What will happen to the original investors
before nationalisation and the legal battles?
Whether I have seen a copy of the court
order or not, I think is not important at this
material time. Yes, I am aware of it but I
also think the whole process was appropriately handled subsequently. I think it was
a case of misinterpreting a judgment. The
law is a very interesting subject. So, legally
anybody has the right to put up a claim in
whatever way and manner he or she wishes
as provided in our Constitution, but we do
believe that there is nothing in the process
of taking over of the bank that is illegal.
However, it is finally left for those that have
responsibility to look after these things to
ensure that whatever decision is taken is in
the manner that will not obstruct business.
For us our mandate is to manage the institution commercially and that is precisely
what we are trying to do. There are structures within this framework that are appropriately positioned to handle other incidental matters.
What did you observe in the style of your
predecessor and what led to the shortcomings and how do you intend to surmount
these challenges to succeed?
They (the former managers of the defunct
banks) are totally different situations. They
were handed over an insolvent bank, while
we (the nationalised banks) were given a
highly capitalised financial institution.
While our mandate is to run the institution
commercially and profitability, they were
mere caretakers preoccupied with preparing the institution for recapitalisation and

at the same time sustaining the business.
Personally, I think they have done very well
given the hostile circumstance under, which
they operated. You know banking is a business of trust. To sustain trust under an unstable economic environment with the competition wanting to eat you alive, requires
strong frame of mind. They had liquidity,
legacy, shareholder, employee and brand
challenges. With a strong balance sheet and
professional management team we are
poised to create the kind of model institution desired by the regulators and our shareholders. And we intend to do that. Part of
current challenges is getting skilled workers to blend with our existing resilient workers to create a formidable team. This is because banking is a people business. If you
don’t have good and experienced hands you
can’t make it! Therefore, our strategy is to
attract and retain talents. We have been talking about corporate governance and now
we have the opportunity to demonstrate it
ourselves.
What are you going to tell your customers about the bank?
First, we will tell them what other banks
are telling them; we are here for good business. We are a customer-centric
organisation. We want to understand what
they want. Before we came in, because of
the situation that I highlighted earlier, even
lending was a challenge due to liquidity and
infrastructural issues. So, now we have to
tell our customers that we are back to business and we are back to business for good.
We are in a position to attend to all their
banking needs. We are efficient and responsive. Our core values are service excellence,
professionalism, innovation, integrity and
work as a team of highly motivated service
providers. Again, we have to understand
what they want and develop our response
around their needs. Most importantly we
keep to our words. We are back in business
and this time around we are back for the
long haul. The mandate from our owners,
like I said earlier, is to run the institution
commercially and profitably. And our intention is to ensure that we leverage service and technology to create competitive
advantage. Our vision is to be a bank for
value creation.

TERLING Bank Plc at
the weekend finally
completed the acquisition of Equitorial Trust Bank
(ETB) Limited with the listing of 3.14 billion ordinary
shares of 50 kobo each issued to shareholders of ETB
on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The listing at N1 per share
added N3.14 billion to the
market capitalisation of Sterling Bank and increased the
lender’s capitalisation to
N15.70 billion.
Shareholders of Sterling
Bank Plc and ETB had in September approved the
merger of the two s, paving
the way for Sterling Bank to
assume all assets and liabilities of ETB and becoming a
strong mid-tier bank.
Sterling Bank issued two
ordinary shares of 50 kobo
each in exchange for one ordinary scheme share of N1
each of ETB. This implied an
exchange ratio of two shares
for two shares exchange ratio where ETB’s share is subdivided into 50 kobo nominal value.
Group managing director,
Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Yemi
Adeola, said the emergent
Sterling Bank would benefit
from increase in its earnings, reduction of costs and
synergies from the two
banks that would lead to
consolidation of its market
share.
He outlined that with the
merger, Sterling Bank
would have opportunity to
become a major player in
corporate banking and other
services, which would
strengthen Sterling Bank’s
traditional strengths in
structured and trade finance,
cash management and treasury.

By Taofik Salako
and Tonia Osundolire

He pointed out that the
merger would lead to economies of scale that would lead
to reduction in operating
while simultaneously widening the market share of
the bank and market penetration, providing opportunities for increased revenues.
“With this merger, we are
laying the foundation for
future earnings growth and
better financial performance. We expect to increase
earnings, cut costs and significantly build shareholder
value,” Adeola said.
Meanwhile, the NSE has
indicated that 13 companies
were under full suspension
for failure to submit their
full-year annual reports,
meaning that investors cannot trade on those stocks.
These affected companies
included IPWA Plc, Union
Dicon Salt Plc, Lennards Plc,
Aluminium Manufacturing
Company of Nigeria Plc,
African Alliance Insurance
Plc, MTI Plc and Investment
& Allied Assurance Plc. Others include West Africa
Glass Industries Plc, Afroil
Plc, Costain (WA) Plc, G
Cappa Plc, Union Homes
Savings & Loans Plc and
Poly Products (Nig) Plc.
NSE had however, recently confirmed to The Nation that it would not delist
the shares of the suspended
companies in consideration
of the shareholders and to
give them room to make
necessary changes that
would lead to compliance
with post-listing rules.
The pricing trend at the

stock market remained bearish with all key indices closing last week on the negative. The All Share Index
(ASI) depreciated by 178.34
points or 0.9 per cent to close
on Friday at 19,785.03 points
while the market capitalisation declined to N6.255 trillion.
All other tracked indices
followed the downtrend.
The NSE-30 Index depreciated by 0.8 per cent to close
at 881.59 points The NSE
Food and Beverage Index
depreciated by 0.5 per cent
to close at 553.06 points. The
NSE Banking Index depreciated by 5.2 per cent to close
at 255.53 points. The NSE Insurance Index declined by
0.2 per cent to close at 146.65
points. The NSE Oil and Gas
Index dropped by 2.0 per
cent to close at 236.37 points.
Total Nigeria Plc led 38
other stocks on the losers’
list with 200 kobo to close at
N198.00 per share. Julius
Berger Nigeria Plc followed
with a loss of 192 kobo to
close at N36.51 per share.
However, Guinness Nigeria Plc led on gainers with
a gain of N10.99 to close at
N216.00 per share. Nigerian
Breweries Plc followed with
a gain of 395 kobo to close at
N95.95 per share
Investors staked a total of
N8.02 billion on 1.1 billion
shares as against a total of
1.224 billion shares valued at
N10.4 billion traded in previous week. Banking subsector accounted for 726.04
million shares worth N4.92
billion in 9,072 deals, while
insurance sub-sector recorded turnover of 74.8 million shares valued at N54
million.

HE Asset Management
Corporation of Nigeria
(AMCON) has engaged 70
professional valuers to determine the
appropriate values of assets and
properties of borrowers transferred
to the bad-assets company through
loan-purchase agreements with
banks.
AMCON has invested N3.14 trillion
($19.6billion) so far in the purchase
of non-performing loans and
recapitalisation of banks. With the
bad debts taken over by the
corporation, it now has assets spread
across the country including real
estate properties and shares that were
used as collateral for loans. AMCON
also has shares in nearly all the banks
in the country and several quoted
companies.
Speaking during the inaugural visit
of the House of Representatives
Committee on Banking and Currency
to AMCON’s office in Lagos,
managing
director,
Asset
Management Corporation of Nigeria
(AMCON), Mr. Mustapha Chike-Obi,
said the engagement of professional
valuers to evaluate all its properties
the country was part of AMCON’s
commitment to ensuring that its
assets are managed and disposed off
in a transparent process that extracts
optimal returns for the tax payers.
In a statement made available to our
correspondent, ChikeObi explained that
AMCON’s assets were primarily locked
in the bad loans that it purchased and
such assets would be realised upon
enforcement of the loan agreements.
He however, pointed out that the
Corporation usually engage and advise
every debtor to explore possible ways
of resolving the bad debt through loan
restructuring
and
payment
rescheduling. He noted that the
corporation only forecloses assets of
borrowers who are not willing to pay.
The AMCON boss said the

By Collins Nweze

Corporation now has some 9,000 loans
under its purview and it has developed
institutional capacity to manage these
efficiently and in the best interest of the
general public, whose funds formed the
basis of establishment of the
corporation.
While outlining the administrative
structures and operations of the
corporation to the lawmakers, ChikeObi reiterated the commitment of
AMCON to open and transparent
administration. He said that AMCON
would always respond positively to any
enquiry from the law makers and the
general public.
“We understand the need for
legislative oversight and we will always
respond positively. You don’t have to
wait for formal occasions before asking
questions, AMCON can be reached
anytime so that we can provide answers
to your concerns and help us pass these
to your various constituencies,” ChikeObi said.
Chairman, House Committee on
Banking and Currency, Hon. Jones
Onyereri, said the lawmakers have
decided to increase the momentum of
their oversight functions in order to
strengthen national institutions.
He pointed out that the visit to
AMCON was to gain better
understanding of the structures and
operations of the corporation and to
assess these in line with the Act that
established it.
Onyereri said the committee was
worried about the plight of shareholders
of the nationalised banks and other
recapitalised banks. He urged financial
services regulators to look at this issue
again and make provisions for these
shareholders.
He said several of the affected
shareholders
were
minority
shareholders who invested their little
savings based on the advice they were
given and assurances by the regulators.

• Dr. Fayemi displaying one of the documents of the bond during the meeting in Ado-Ekiti...at the weekend. With
him are his deputy Mrs Funmi Olayinka (left), his wife Bisi (second right) and Ms Oteh

Ekiti raises N20billion bond

E

KITI State at the weekend con
cluded the book building and
completion meeting for the N20
billion first tranche of the state’s bond
issuance programme after the issue was
oversubscribed by enthusiastic investors.
The Ekiti State N20 billion 14.5 per
cent fixed rate 2018 bond, was oversubscribed by N300 million and despite
its seven-year tenor, represented a relatively cheaper capital, given the current average interest rate of 16.5 per
cent. The Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)
of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),
the benchmark interest rate, is currently put at 12 per cent. The N20 billion first tranche represents 80 per cent
of the N25 billion bond issuance programme of the state.
The fixed coupon rate of 14.5 per cent
for the bond insulated it from possible
increase that might come from a floating rate under the monetary tightening policy of the CBN, while the inbuilt call option allows the state to
manage the bond in a lower-interest
environment.

By Taofik Salako

Speaking at the completion meeting at the weekend in Ado Ekiti, Governor Kayode Fayemi, said the proceeds of the bond issue would be used
to finance the government’s eightpoint agenda, aimed at unleashing
the economic potential of the state.
He stated that the government is
committed to the development of
state through provision of critical infrastructure and development of the
key sectors of the economy including
agriculture, tourism and mineral resources, assuring that the government
would use the proceeds judiciously as
outlined in the issue prospectus.
In her remarks, Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), Arunma Oteh, said the Commission took into consideration the
several laudable developmental
projects being implemented by the
state and the fact that the state applied
the proceeds of earlier bond issue during the Adeniyi-Adebayo administration to verifiable projects that vindi-

cated capital market as catalyst for development.
According to her, capital market has
for long played important roles as
catalyst for development of great nations and Nigerian market offers opportunities for governments and institutions to access long-term funds
needed for developmental projects.
She said the funds from the bond
issue would complement government’s resources noting that government’s revenues from the federation
allocation and internal revenues could
never be enough to hasten the development of the state.
Oteh, who visited the Ikogosi Warm
Spring and some other projects being
undertaken by the government,
commended the plan to develop the
Ikogosi Warm Spring into a full-fledge
tourism centre while applauding the
state government’s strides in the areas of education and health.
She added that the funds earmarked
for road constructions from the N20 billion bond would open up the economy
and transform the economy of the state.

HE Enugu State government has awarded
N4 billion contracts to
build four major roads, Commissioner for Information
Chuks Ugwoke has said.
He spoke to reporters after
the State Executive Council
meeting chaired by Governor
Sullivan Chime.
Ugwoke
said
N1,808,632,789.63 has been
earmarked to build Nguru –
Ede Oballa – Eha Alumona
road while N988, 404,882.83 is
for the Igogoro Amachalla –
Ugbaike –Obollo Afor road.
The commissioner said the
10.3 kilometre Igogoro – Obollo Afor road would link Nsukka– Ibagwa Ogurute Ahi – Ette
road while the Nguru – Eha-

From Chris Oji, Enugu

Alumona road is expected to
open up the area.
Other roads are Zik Avenue
Phase II awarded to Borini
Prono Company Nigeria
Limited at N1,569,349,993 and
the Nara – Isiogbo road
awarded at N286,692,000.
Ugwoke, who was accompanied by the Special Adviser to Chime on Project Development Prince Uche Nwobodo, said the council approved N113, 421, 742 for the
construction of a new State
Judiciary Complex, Enugu.
He said the two court
rooms with a mini cell, two
judges chambers, two offices for staff and a multipur-

pose hall for ceremonies
would be built through direct labour.
He said the council also approved the relocation and reconstruction of two buildings
marked for demolition at the
305 Flying Training School,
Nigeria Airforce Base, Enugu.
The two buildings housing
the Library/Hall and Administrative blocks of the school
are to be demolished to make
way for the Akanu Ibiam International Airport.
The council also approved
the payment of the state’s
counterpart fund of over
N367,914,545 for this year’s
Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) conditional
grant scheme.

Breast cancer cases rise to 3,000 in Southeast

T

HE Rotary Club of
Enugu city layout, Rotary International District 9140, has raised an alarm
on the rising cases of breast
cancer in the country.
It urged the governments
to incorporate Breast Cancer Awareness programme
in its primary health care
scheme.
Addressing reporters in
Enugu on the activities of the
club’s Breast Cancer Awareness Initiative, the coordinator of the programme, Ogugua Nwankwu, said of the 62
Breast Cancer clinics in the
Southeast, its medical team
had received over 3,000 cases.
She regretted that most Nigerian women were not

From Chris Oji, Enugu

aware of the existence of breast
cancer and blamed it on a
faulty national health programme.
She explained that breast
cancer develops when a single cell begins to multiply out
of control and forms a tumor,
adding that in this complex
situation, some cells may
break away and travel to other parts of the body to form
new tumors.
The coordinator identified
age, family history, hormone
replacement therapy, consumption of oral contraceptive pills, obesity and excessive alcohol intake as well as
menstruation at early age as

some of the possible factors
responsible for breast cancer
among women.
She suggested early breast
cancer screening.
President of the Club Chidi Uzuegbu said the club secured a 3-H grant from Rotary Foundation of Rotary International for project on
Breast Cancer Awareness in
Southeast and Akwa-Ibom
State in 2009.
Uzuegbu expressed joy that
in the past two years of massive campaign, the project
committee had mounted
Mammogram machines for
Breast Cancer screening at the
Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching
Hospital, Anambra State and
ESUT Teaching Hospital, Enugu.

ASUU strike: VC calls for caution

T

HE Vice -Chancellor of
Tai Solarin University
of Education, Prof. Segun Awonusi, has called on the
Federal Government and the
Association of Staff Union of
University (ASUU) to exercise
caution over the ongoing
ASUU strike.
Awonusi spoke during the
launching of film 1920, Creating Avenue for Zealous
Youth (CRAZY), organised by
the Adegrange Child Foundation at Deprime Hall, Ijebu-

By Adeola Ogunlade

Ode, Ogun State.
He said: “The right of the
union to appeal on the agreement reached with the Federal Government is ideal, but it
is unfortunate that we have
had one strike too many.”
He implored the Federal
Government to implement the
agreement it signed with the
union.
Awonusi, who noted that
the new film is aimed at em-

powering youths in rural areas, pledged the support of the
institution on the initiative.
“It is evident that the fight
against corruption, examination malpractice and cultism
on our campuses would be
won when we work together
in different groups on the promotion of godly virtues
among youths,” he said.
Founder of the Foundation
Prof. Adenike Grange said the
film is an interventionist prorgramme.

‘Gbagada cardiac centre meant to build local capacity’

G

OVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State yesterday
said the Cardiac and Renal
Centre just completed at the
Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital Annex in
Gbagada in the Kosofe Local
Council Development Area
of the state is an investment

Group to build
hospital in
Anambra
From Adimike George,
Onitsha

THE Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN),
Anambra State chapter,
will build a specialist
hospital in Awka, PFN
National Youth Leader
and General Superintendent of Bethesa Bible
Church, Onitsha, Pastor
Chidi Innocent, has
said.
The clergy said the
hospital would take care of
the health needs of the
people and complement the
evangelisation of the state.

meant to build local capacity
and repatriate the nation's
human resources in the medical sector from abroad.
Fashola, who fielded questions from reporters after an
inspection of the first of its
type Cardiac and Renal Centre as well as the Trauma and
Burns Centre, also said the
facility would help to reduce
capital flight.
The governor said it would
also enrich the economy of
the state.
Pointing out that the usual practice in this country has
been to ship victims of kidney and heart diseases
abroad, the governor who
was conducted round the
Cardiac and Renal Centre by
the Senior Project Manager,
Mr. Mahdi Abbas, said:
"When you take victims of
these complications abroad,
you enrich other economies
and we decided that we have
doctors here who have the
capacity to surpass those
economies, if given the
chance".
"It is not just a hospital but
also, from our preventive
strategy in the periodic Hypertension and Diabetes
screening, education and ad-

vocacy programme, that is
the biggest investment in itself because if that succeeds,
the number of diseases and
accidents you see arising
from those developments
will reduce.
"It is an investment to
build local capacity standing
on what exists and also repatriate back the several
thousands of human resources in the health sector
who left out of the frustration of the unavailability of
the environment in which to
practice their profession.
"So, our target ultimately
is that, yes we would keep
that capacity and expertise
here and see an increasing
reduction in the cases that
we send out.
"We expect to see an increasing reduction in the
monies and foreign exchange that we are expending outside and if there is
any need for sponsorship of
indigent patients, I would
rather spend that money locally and let the local doctors in Nigeria earn that
money than use it to empower a doctor in Europe or
America", Governor Fashola said.

58

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

60

FOREIGN NEWS

DR Congo poll results ‘lack
credibility’, say observers

A

TEAM of international observers has
said irregularities in
DR Congo’s presidential
election were so serious that
the results “lack credibility”.
The Carter Center highlighted numerous problems
in the vote-counting process.
The official results announced on Friday gave
President Joseph Kabila
49% of the vote against 32%
for opposition leader
Etienne Tshisekedi.
Mr Tshisekedi says he won
the election and is the country’s president. He has urged
supporters to stay calm.
The opposition have announced plans to hold protest marches next week.
“We insist that the protests will be non-violent.
The population know this
may be a long, long walk
but they are ready for it,”

opposition
spokesman
Albert Moleka told Reuters
news agency.
Four people died in postelection violence after the
results came out.
Four other opposition candidates have said the election was rigged and should
be annulled.
In a statement, the Carter
Center, which had 26 teams
of observers monitoring the
elections, pointed to differences in the vote count between areas where Mr
Kabila had strong support
and areas that favoured Mr
Tshisekedi.
Some constituencies in
Katanga province “reported
impossibly high rates of 99
to 100% voter turnout with
all, or nearly all, votes going to incumbent President
Joseph Kabila”, the Center
said.
Meanwhile in Kinshasa,
where Mr Tshisekedi has

•Kabila

strong support, results from
nearly 2,000 polling station
stations were lost - roughly
a fifth of the city’s total.
The Center said the violations it had documented
does not mean “the final order of candidates is necessarily different” from official
results.

Russian President orders probe into poll
USSIAN President
Dmitry Medvedev
has ordered an investigation into allegations
of election violations.
Mr Medvedev broke two

R

days of silence yesterday by
posting a comment on
Facebook to announce the
probe into the parliamentary
election result on December
4.

Mugabe insists on re-election bid

Z

IMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe has said it would
be an act of cowardice for him to retire ahead of elections
expected to be held next year.
Closing his party’s annual conference, Mr Mugabe, 87, condemned the current power-sharing government as a “monster”
which should be buried.
Resolutions were passed endorsing Mr Mugabe as candidate,
in spite of reports he is suffering ill-health.
Correspondents say despite party divisions, public dissent is
rare.
President Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party formed a coalition in 2009
with the MDC party of Morgan Tsvangirai, now prime minister,
following disputed elections.

The opposition says the
vote was rigged in favour of
the ruling Vladimir Putin’s
United Russia party, which
won a slim majority in the
State Duma Lower House.
Tens of thousands of people in Moscow and around
Russia demanded a re-run of
the election on Saturday in
the biggest opposition protests the country has seen in
years.
Mr Medvedev wrote: “I do
not agree with any slogans
or statements made at the
rallies. Nevertheless, instructions have been given
by me to check all information from polling stations regarding compliance with the
legislation on elections.”

Ivory Coast votes in parliamentary elections

T

HE people of Ivory
Coast are voting in
their first parliamentary poll since a presidential
election a year ago sparked
months of violence.
More than five million
people are eligible to vote,
but turnout halfway through
the day was reportedly low.
United Nations troops are
on patrol in the Ivorian commercial capital, Abidjan.
The party of Laurent
Gbagbo, whose refusal to
step down last year set off

the bloodshed, is boycotting
the poll. It complains of intimidation and bias.
Mr Gbagbo is awaiting
trial at the International
Criminal Court (ICC) on
charges of crimes against
humanity.
Mr Gbagbo’s party, the
Ivorian Popular Front party,
has accused the electoral
commission of bias in favour
of the current President,
Alassane Ouattara.
It also accuses the army of
intimidating supporters

during the campaign.
Election officials spoke of
small numbers turning out
to vote in comparison with
the presidential elections
last year.
Casting his vote at midday, President Ouattara
urged Ivorians to go to the
polls. Nearly 1,000 candidates are vying for 255 posts.
With the opposition by and
large not taking part, this
has turned into a contest between the two main parties
in the government coalition.

NEWS
Gowon to Jonathan: don’t remove
•Continued from page 2
President stated that he
subsidy now was“Theencouraged
to embark on
“He said currently, the entire

capital budget is borrowed,
including part of the recurrent
budget which makes it impossible to deliver on the major
infrastructure projects such as
power, railways, major road
networks and the dredging of
the River Niger which are
meant to reposition the country for rapid development and
job creation.
“The President explained
what his government has decided to do is to deregulate the
downstream sector of the oil
industry and other sectors of
the economy in order to attract
ongoing capital outflows from
Europe and Asia where
investors are heading to Africa
to set up shop.
“He said his administration
is doing the same thing the

Chinese did in 1978 in spite of
domestic opposition by
deregulating the Chinese
economy.
“He said today because of
that singular act, China has
overtaken all those countries
which failed to reform and has
been able to take 300 million
Chinese out of poverty in 30
years.
“He said rather than allow
the price control mechanism
and wrong government policies to block the economy from
developing, government has
decided to embark on a wholesale review of these policies in
order to modernise and transform the Nigerian economy to
create jobs for our teeming
young school leavers and prosperity for all our citizens.

this policy reforms following
the clear success stories of
similar deregulation of the
telecom industry, aviation,
and cement production which
have over the last ten years
grown from strength to
strength and employed hundreds of thousands of young
Nigerians following those reforms.
“He said government,
realising that the initial period
of deregulation of the
downstream sector of our oil
industry will lead to increased
cost in fuel price, has embarked
on a programme of carefully
selected
social
relief
interventions to ameliorate the
impact on the vulnerable
sections of the Nigerian
population.”

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

61

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

63

www.thenationonlineng.net

WHO SAID WHAT

‘It will be completely out of place for anybody to doubt that
MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

C OMMENT & D EB
ATE
EBA

W

E have two fascinating women on
the cabinet of President Goodluck
Jonathan. Ironically, these are the
queens of the Nigerian economy. They are
both articulate. They carry a measure of
charisma with miens that men admire but
do not necessarily love and they seem to
love to ride storms with the tenacity of
hardy men.
The first is Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the finance minister and the other is Diezanni
Alison-Madueke, the minister of petroleum. Both are beneficiaries of international corporations. Alison-Madueke rose
at Shell while Okonjo-Iweala soared in the
ambience of the World Bank and IMF.
Ordinarily, these backgrounds would
compel you to think that they are equipped
for the maelstrom of the Nigerian economy
with its compulsive flirtation with poverty,
joblessness and hunger, and its creative
failures that turn grand policies to grandiose artifacts.
But nothing focuses the imbecility of the
duo more than the raging controversy over
the proposed removal of the so-called fuel
subsidy. Working under the supervision
of Goodluck Jonathan, we have a trio who
want us to believe and accept what they
cannot market.
All they say is that the subsidy has to go
because we need the money to rebuild the
economy. Subsidy has not helped us as a
country in the past decades. The beneficiaries have leeched the system to the tune
of N1.3 trillion, noted Alison-Madueke.
Okonjo-Iweala says the economy will benefit from the infusion of new capital. It is
hard to identify who is the echo chamber
between the two queens, as the one seems to
say a version of the other’s protestation.
They want us to believe they know and we
don’t. They are the qualified ones, the royal
seats of knowledge. President Jonathan oversimplified the issue when he declared that
the economy would collapse if subsidy is
not removed. The sense of alarm seems a
distorted echo of what Babangida said in his
peacock days as military president. He asserted that he was amazed that with all the
damage he inflicted, the Nigerian economy
had not collapsed. Let us not delve into the
qualifications of Jonathan. Let us look at the
backgrounds of Okonjo-Iweala and AlisonMadueke. They remind literary buffs of the
idea called burlesque. It refers to elevating a
person to such a high pedestal only to bring
the person down in a laughable fall to his
rightful level.
Very early, Alison-Madueke was elevated
to handle a ministry in charge of roads. She
wept dramatically on Ore road, and everyone thought she had brought the tenderness
and empathy of a womanly vision to governance. This was in contrast to the frigid
indifference of men. Alas, her drama was no
more than what it was: a drama. We heard

nothing about the road. Rather than bid her
goodbye, Jonathan made her oil minister in
the first dispensation. At the end of that reign,
she was appointed oil minister again for her
“latter reign.” This was in defiance of collective objection from industry experts and practitioners. Her years in Shell only made her
incompetent.
But she came to office the second time with
greater powers. Unlike in her former reign
when she had a minister of state, she is the
sole minister in this latter reign, giving her a
lot of rain, to parody Joel in the Holy Bible.
As for Okonjo-Iweala, she is familiar with
the ways of international finance from the
standpoint of the West. In those institutions,
they look at the developing world from two
platforms. One, they want to know how it
will benefit them. Two, they “help” with what
is called a paternalist attitude. That means
they look at us as children who must be
helped because we do not have the brains to
do things for ourselves. That is why they

RIPPLES
KESHI: I’LL REBUILD EAGLES

...by inviting YAKUBU?

VOL.7, NO. 1,972

the post-amnesty programme has succeeded. We’re warning
detractors not to erode the many benefits the programme has
brought to the Niger Delta and the country’

want us to follow the market forces even
though they know that African economies
cannot compete on an equal footing with
theirs.
It is that kind of thinking that she brings
into Nigeria. Her economic sense has not
been domesticated. Hence the so-called Sovereign Wealth Fund is being made available to Western companies like Goldman
Sachs and JP Morgan. She does not understand that the Nigerian economy is for Nigerians and not for Barack Obama. She may
have risen high in those climes, but she has
not come down to the heres and nows of
our society. She should read economist Karl
Polanyi who warned economists in his
opus, The Great Transformation, that the
economy is born in society and not society
in the economy.
While the case of Okonjo-Iweala is that of
naivety, Alison-Madueke’s is that of incompetence.
Hence, they would not let the ordinary Nigerian understand the fibs and stark lies of
the so-called subsidy.
First, we must understand that what they
are trying to remove is not fuel subsidy but
corruption subsidy.
Now, let us look at how it works. A marketer brings in 40 million litres of fuel into
the country, but he declares 5million litres
and sells 35 million at what is called the Platt
price elsewhere, whereas Nigeria has paid
him the subsidy worth 40 million litres. He
will pocket the value of 35 million litres times
N65
The Department of Petroleum Resources that
must verify the actual quantity brought in
turns a blind eye because some of its top officials have been bribed.
Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory
Agency has the list of those who can import
oil. Note that they are different from Pipelines and Products Marketing Company.
PPPRA bridges the control price of N65 with

HARDBALL

I

N his speech at the opening of the 5 th
Annual Conference of Muslim Lawyers in
Kaduna on Saturday, the Sultan of Sokoto,

Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar,
suggested that some of the problems
confronting Nigeria today could be
attributed to injustice. Among the many
things he said at the conference, including an
admonition to Muslims and Christians to
enlighten themselves on their religions, his
view on injustice was probably the most
insightful. Said he: “I want to make it very
clear that the problems facing this country
are largely due to injustice meted out to some
people. And if you are talking of injustice,
we don’t have good governance, and if there
is no good governance, there cannot be good
people.”
These thoughts are probably not original
to the Sultan; he was merely rephrasing
components of the idea of Social Contract as
espoused by Locke, Rousseau, and, through
the influence of Jefferson, incorporated into
the American declaration of independence.
But it is about time someone reiterated to
the government in particular, and the country
in general, the important connection between

GOODLUCK JONATHAN

international price which is around N130.
They pay the importer. Why did PPPRA
lose its independence under the office of
the minister of petroleum? She approves
the list. This was in her first reign.
So, it is clear whatever distortion happens happens in the PPPRA, DPR and the
ministry of Petroleum.
Can we establish the fuel consumption
in this country? To ascertain the truth, we
should trace the fuel from port to the end
user. How many litres do we consume
every day? Let us put a Naira price to it
and see whether we actually consumed
N1.5 trillion worth of fuel between last
October and now. Let us assume that the
subsidy is N1.5 till now, what it means is
that Nigerians in 2011 consumed about N3
trillion worth of fuel because the subsidy
is only half the price. That is about $20 billion worth of fuel. This is apart from PPMC
imported fuel which consumes $5 billion
worth of fuel every year. That means we
consumed $25 billion worth of fuel in Nigeria a year. The so-called refineries still
adds to this number, however little.
We need forensic auditors to trace these
and they should be international auditors
supervised outside the political sphere.
The process:
They go to CBN to request for US dollars
to open LC for the importation of petroleum products. The LC is open at the world
prevailing rates in the market (Platt).
The product is brought into the country,
and PPPRA through its various verification channels authenticates. They pay the
marketers’ banks the differentials.
Forensic auditors must go to PPPRA and
the marketers’ banks, and obtain bank receipts, bills of lading for products brought
in to authenticate if the products came into
Nigeria. A fake bill of lading will be discovered. The CBN has copies of bills of
lading as well as the commercial banks.
The announcement of some marketers
as beneficiaries last week was diversionary. The marketers are too afraid to protest. The real culprits are the political
elites. We have not considered those who
do round tripping, and declare fuel at the
port, obtain subsidy and come back to declare same.
This is what we need to stop. If we subsidise the actual fuel that we consume in
this country, the expenditure will be negligible. We have not even mentioned the
demurrage that accrues astronomically
from willful delays.
If Jonathan cannot tackle the real culprits, he should let us know. Visiting the
sins of a larcenous few on the pauperised
mass is unchristian.
The dames of subsidy should realise that
the economy is about healing the land and
not flying to some cloudy theories and
pandering parochial interests. May our
destiny not depend on their subsidy.

•Hardball is not the opinion of
the columnist featured above

Sultan Abubakar’s injustice theory
justice and peace. Sadly, this connection is often
irresponsibly downplayed by both elected and
authoritarian governments in most parts of
Africa, Nigeria inclusive. Even though the
Sultan’s reminder of the connection between
justice and peace is universally applicable, it
is possible he was also referring to the
seemingly intractable problem of Boko
Haram.
It will be recalled that though the Boko
Haram sect admitted that their brand of Islam
was not mainstream, they claimed they
became violent when the authorities began
to use extra-judicial means to rein in the sect’s
activities. The crisis got to a head when the
police extra-judicially eliminated their leader,
Mohammed Yusuf. Since then, the sect has
promised ominously that the only way to
pacify them is to kill its members to the last
man. And given the fact that the sect’s
membership is being expanded through new
recruitments, the problem could be with us
for a much longer time than envisaged.
More critically, however, it would be unfair

to limit the Sultan’s observation on peace
and justice to the crisis bedevilling parts of
the North. Any society that ignores the
concept of social, economic and political
justice cannot reasonable expect to enjoy
sustained peace. Not only have the
problems that engendered Boko Haram
extremism, such as high-handed security
operations and officials, continued
unchecked, the government does not even
appear enthusiastic about ensuring
economic justice. Nigeria has become a
security nightmare today partly because of
economic injustice. More investment in
better law enforcement alone cannot check
this problem.
Given our precipitous descent into the
abyss of general insecurity, it is obvious
that our government has so far been unable
to make the connection between injustice
and crises. But this is precisely what it must
do, and very urgently too, if the
multifarious problems confronting us are
not to be exacerbated.